-<!doctype debiandoc system [
-<!-- include version information so we don't have to hard code it
- within the document -->
-<!entity % versiondata SYSTEM "version.ent"> %versiondata;
+<!DOCTYPE debiandoc PUBLIC "-//DebianDoc//DTD DebianDoc//EN" [
+ <!-- include version information so we don't have to hard code it
+ within the document -->
+ <!entity % versiondata SYSTEM "version.ent"> %versiondata;
+ <!-- common, language independant entities -->
+ <!entity % commondata SYSTEM "common.ent" > %commondata;
+ <!-- CVS revision of this document -->
+ <!entity cvs-rev "$Revision: 1.88 $">
+
+ <!-- if you are translating this document, please notate the RCS
+ revision of the developers reference here -->
+ <!--
+ <!entity cvs-en-rev "X.YY">
+ -->
]>
<debiandoc>
<!--
TODO:
- bugs in upstream versions should be reported upstream!
- - porter instructions - - volunteers needed for this x86-centric
- maintainer!
- add information on how to get accounts on different architectures
- - talk about CVS access
+ - talk about CVS access, other ways to submit problems
+ - add information on how you can contribute w/o being an official
+ developer
+ - "official port maintainer" ? (cf. glibc-pre2.1)
-->
<book>
<title>Debian Developer's Reference
- <author>Adam P. Harris, current maintainer <email/aph@debian.org/
- <author>Christian Schwarz <email/schwarz@debian.org/
- <author>Ian Jackson <email/ijackson@gnu.ai.mit.edu/
- <version>ver. &version;, &date;
+ <author>Adam Di Carlo, current maintainer <email>aph@debian.org</email>
+ <author>Christian Schwarz <email>schwarz@debian.org</email>
+ <author>Ian Jackson <email>ijackson@gnu.ai.mit.edu</email>
+ <version>ver. &version;, &date-en;
<copyright>
- <copyrightsummary><p>
-Copyright ©1998 Adam P. Harris. Copyright ©1997,1998
-Christian Schwarz.
+ <copyrightsummary>
+copyright ©1998 &ndash 2001 Adam Di Carlo</copyrightsummary>
+ <copyrightsummary>
+copyright ©1997, 1998 Christian Schwarz</copyrightsummary>
<p>
This manual is free software; you may redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. See the GNU
General Public License for more details.
<p>
-A copy of the GNU General Public License is available as
-<tt>/usr/doc/copyright/GPL</tt> in the Debian GNU/Linux distribution
-or on the World Wide Web at <url
-id="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html" name="the GNU website">.
-You can also obtain it by writing to the Free Software Foundation,
-Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
+A copy of the GNU General Public License is available as &file-GPL; in
+the &debian-formal; distribution or on the World Wide Web at <url
+id="&url-gpl;" name="the GNU website">. You can also obtain it by
+writing to the &fsf-addr;.
- <toc sect>
+ <toc detail="sect2">
<chapt id="scope">Scope of This Document
<p>
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the
-processes and resources used by Debian developers.
+recommended procedures and the available resources for Debian
+developers.
<p>
-The processes discussed within include how to become a maintainer
+The procedures discussed within include how to become a maintainer
(<ref id="new-maintainer">); how to upload new packages (<ref
-id="upload">); how and when to do interim releases of other
-maintainer's packages (<ref id="nmu">); how to move, remove, or orphan
+id="upload">); how and when to do ports and interim releases of other
+maintainers' packages (<ref id="nmu">); how to move, remove, or orphan
packages (<ref id="archive-manip">); and how to handle bug reports
(<ref id="bug-handling">).
<p>
The resources discussed in this reference include the mailing lists
and servers (<ref id="servers">); a discussion of the structure of the
Debian archive (<ref id="archive">); explanation of the different
-servers which accept package uploads (<ref id="upload-master">); and a
-discussion of resources which an help maintainers with the quality of
+servers which accept package uploads (<ref id="upload-ftp-master">); and a
+discussion of resources which can help maintainers with the quality of
their packages (<ref id="tools">).
<p>
-It should be clear that this reference does not discuss the details of
-the Debian package or how to generate Debian packages; that is
-discussed in the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/packaging.html/"
-name="Debian Packaging Manual">. Neither does this reference detail
-the standards to which Debian software must comply; that information
-can be found in the <url id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/"
-name="Debian Policy Manual">.
+It should be clear that this reference does not discuss the technical
+details of the Debian package nor how to generate Debian packages.
+Nor does this reference detail the standards to which Debian software
+must comply. All of such information can be found in the <url
+id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian Policy Manual">.
+ <p>
+Furthermore, this document is <em>not an expression of formal
+policy</em>. It contains documentation for the Debian system and
+generally agreed-upon best practices. Thus, it is what is called a
+``normative'' document.
<chapt id="new-maintainer">Applying to Become a Maintainer
<sect>Getting started
<p>
So, you've read all the documentation, you understand what everything
-in the <package/hello/ example package is for, and you're about to
+in the <package>hello</package> example package is for, and you're about to
Debianize your favourite piece of software. How do you actually
become a Debian developer so that your work can be incorporated into
the Project?
<p>
-Firstly, subscribe to <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ if you
-haven't already. Send the word <tt/subscribe/ in the <em/Subject/ of
-an email to <email/debian-devel-REQUEST@lists.debian.org/. In case of
-problems, contact the list administrator at
-<email/listmaster@lists.debian.org/. More information on available
+Firstly, subscribe to &email-debian-devel; if you haven't already.
+Send the word <tt>subscribe</tt> in the <em>Subject</em> of an email
+to &email-debian-devel-req;. In case of problems, contact the list
+administrator at &email-listmaster;. More information on available
mailing lists can be found in <ref id="mailing-lists">.
<p>
-You should subscribe and lurk for a bit before doing any coding, and
-you should post about your intentions to work on something to avoid
-duplicated effort.
- <p>
-Another good list to subscribe to is
-<email/debian-mentors@lists.debian.org/. See <ref id="mentors"> for
-details. The IRC channel <tt/#debian/ on the Linux People IRC network
-(i.e., <tt/irc.debian.org/) can also be helpful.
-
-
- <sect>Registering as a Debian developer
- <p>
-Before you decide to register with the Debian Project, you will need
-to read the <url id="http://www.debian.org/social_contract"
-name="Debian Social Contract">. Registering as a developer means that
-you agree with and pledge to uphold the Debian Social Contract; it is
-very important that maintainers are in accord with the essential ideas
-behind Debian GNU/Linux. Reading the <url
-id="http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html" name="GNU Manifesto"> would
-also be a good idea.
+You should subscribe and lurk (that is, read without posting) for a
+bit before doing any coding, and you should post about your intentions
+to work on something to avoid duplicated effort.
+ <p>
+Another good list to subscribe to is &email-debian-mentors;. See <ref
+id="mentors"> for details. The IRC channel <tt>#debian</tt> on the
+Linux People IRC network (e.g., <tt>irc.debian.org</tt>) can also be
+helpful.
+
+ <p>
+When you know how you want to contribute to &debian-formal;, you
+should get in contact with existing Debian maintainers who are working
+on similar tasks. That way, you can learn from experienced developers.
+For example, if you are interested in packaging existing software for
+Debian you should try to get a sponsor. A sponsor will work together
+with you on your package and upload it to the Debian archive once he
+is happy with the packaging work you have done. You can find a sponsor
+by mailing the &email-debian-mentors; mailing list, describing your
+package and yourself and asking for a sponsor (see <ref id="sponsoring">
+for more information on sponsoring). On the other hand, if you are
+interested in porting Debian to alternative architectures or kernels
+you can subscribe to port specific mailing lists and ask there how to
+get started. Finally, if you are interested in documentation or
+Quality Assurance (QA) work you can join maintainers already working on
+these tasks and submit patches and improvements.
+
+
+ <sect id="registering">Registering as a Debian developer
+ <p>
+Before you decide to register with &debian-formal;, you will need to
+read all the information available at the <url id="&url-newmaint;"
+name="New Maintainer's Corner">. It describes exactly the
+preparations you have to do before you can register to become a Debian
+developer.
+
+For example, before you apply, you have to to read the <url
+id="&url-social-contract;" name="Debian Social Contract">.
+Registering as a developer means that you agree with and pledge to
+uphold the Debian Social Contract; it is very important that
+maintainers are in accord with the essential ideas behind
+&debian-formal;. Reading the <url id="&url-gnu-manifesto;" name="GNU
+Manifesto"> would also be a good idea.
<p>
The process of registering as a developer is a process of verifying
-your identity and intentions. As the number of people working on
-Debian GNU/Linux has grown to over 400 people and our systems are used
-in several very important places we have to be careful about being
-compromised. Therefore, we need to verify new maintainers before we
-can give them accounts on our servers and letting them upload
-packages.
- <p>
-Registration requires that the following information be sent to
-<email/new-maintainer@debian.org/ as part of the registration
-application:
-<list>
- <item>
-Your name.
- <item>
-Your preferred login name on <tt/master/ (seven characters or
-less<footnote>It is not clear to the author why logins on
-<tt>master</tt> cannot be eight characters or greater. If anyone can
-clarify why, I would appreciate it.</footnote>), as well as the email
-address at which you'd prefer to be subscribed to
-<email/debian-private@lists.debian.org/ (typically this will be either
-your primary mail address or your new <tt>debian.org</tt> address).
- <item>
-A phone number where we can call you. Remember that the new
-maintainer team usually calls during evening hours to save on long
-distance tolls. Please do not give a work number, unless you are
-generally there in the evening.
- <item>
-A statement of intention, that is, what package(s) you intend to work
-on, which Debian port you will be assisting, or how you intend to
-contribute to Debian.
- <item>
-A statement that you have read and agree to uphold the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/social_contract" name="Debian Social
-Contract">.
- <item>
-Some mechanism by which we can verify your real-life identity. For
-example, any of the following mechanisms would suffice:
-<list>
- <item>
-A PGP key signed by any well-known signature, such as:
-<list>
- <item>
-Any current Debian developer you have met <em/in real life/.
- <item>
-Any formal certification service (such as Verisign, etc.) that
-verifies your identity. A certification that verifies your email
-address, and not you identity, is not sufficient.
- </list>
- <item>
-Alternatively, you may identify yourself with a scanned (or physically
-mailed) copy of any formal documents certifying your identity (such as
-a birth certificate, national ID card, U.S. Driver's License, etc.).
-If emailed, please sign the mail with your PGP key.
- </list>
- </list>
- <p>
-If you do not have a PGP key yet, generate one. Every developer needs
-a PGP key in order to sign and verify package uploads. You should read
-the PGP manual, since it has much important information which is
-critical to its security. Many more security failures are due to
-human error than to software failure or high-powered spy techniques.
- <p>
-Our standard is to use <prgn>pgp</prgn> version 2.x. You can use
-<prgn/pgp/ version 5, if and only if you make an RSA key. Note that
-we are also working with the <prgn/gpg/ team so that we can have a
-free alternative to PGP; however, this may take a little bit of time.
- <p>
-Your PGP key must be at least 1024 bits long. There is no reason to
-use a smaller key, and doing so would be much less secure. Your key
-must be signed with at least your own user ID. This prevents user ID
-tampering. You can do it by executing <tt>pgp -ks
-<var/your_userid/</tt>.
- <p>
-If your PGP key isn't on public PGP key servers such as
-<tt>pgp.net</tt>, please read the documentation available locally
-<tt>/usr/doc/pgp/keyserv.doc</tt>. That document contains
-instructions on how to put your key on the public key servers.
- <p>
-Due to export restrictions by the United States government some Debian
-packages, including PGP, have been moved to an ftp site outside of the
-United States. You can find the current locations of those packages on
-<ftpsite/ftp.debian.org/ or <ftpsite/ftp.us.debian.org/ in the
-<ftppath>/pub/debian/README.non-US</ftppath> file.
+your identity and intentions, and checking your technical skills. As
+the number of people working on &debian-formal; has grown to over
+&number-of-maintainers; people and our systems are used in several
+very important places we have to be careful about being compromised.
+Therefore, we need to verify new maintainers before we can give them
+accounts on our servers and let them upload packages.
+ <p>
+Before you actually register you should have shown that you can do
+competent work and will be a good contributor. You can show this by
+submitting patches through the Bug Tracking System or having a package
+sponsored by an existing maintainer for a while. Also, we expect that
+contributors are interested in the whole project and not just in
+maintaining their own packages. If you can help other maintainers by
+providing further information on a bug or even a patch, then do so!
+ <p>
+Registration requires that you are familiar with Debian's philosophy
+and technical documentation. Furthermore, you need a GPG key which
+has been signed by an existing Debian maintainer. If your GPG key
+is not signed yet, you should try to meet a Debian maintainer in
+person to get your key signed. There's a <url id="&url-gpg-coord;"
+name="GPG Key Signing Coordination page"> which should help you find
+a maintainer close to you (If you cannot find a Debian maintainer
+close to you, there's an alternative way to pass the ID check. You
+can send in a photo ID signed with your GPG key. Having your GPG
+key signed is the preferred way, however. See the
+<url id="&url-newmaint-id;" name="identification page"> for more
+information about these two options.)
+
+ <p>
+If you do not have an OpenPGP key yet, generate one. Every developer
+needs a OpenPGP key in order to sign and verify package uploads. You
+should read the manual for the software you are using, since it has
+much important information which is critical to its security. Many
+more security failures are due to human error than to software failure
+or high-powered spy techniques. See <ref id="key-maint"> for more
+information on maintaining your public key.
+ <p>
+Debian uses the <prgn>GNU Privacy Guard</prgn> (package
+<package>gnupg</package> version 1 or better) as its baseline standard.
+You can use some other implementation of OpenPGP as well. Note that
+OpenPGP is a open standard based on <url id="&url-rfc2440;" name="RFC
+2440">.
+ <p>
+The recommended public key algorithm for use in Debian development
+work is the DSA (sometimes call ``DSS'' or ``DH/ElGamal''). Other key
+types may be used however. Your key length must be at least 1024
+bits; there is no reason to use a smaller key, and doing so would be
+much less secure. Your key must be signed with at least your own user
+ID; this prevents user ID tampering. <prgn>gpg</prgn> does this
+automatically.
+ <p>
+If your public key isn't on public key servers such as &pgp-keyserv;,
+please read the documentation available locally in &file-keyservs;.
+That document contains instructions on how to put your key on the
+public key servers. The New Maintainer Group will put your public key
+on the servers if it isn't already there.
<p>
Some countries restrict the use of cryptographic software by their
citizens. This need not impede one's activities as a Debian package
maintainer however, as it may be perfectly legal to use cryptographic
products for authentication, rather than encryption purposes (as is
-the case in France). The Debian Project does not require the use of
-cryptography <em/qua/ cryptography in any manner. If you live in a
+the case in France). &debian-formal; does not require the use of
+cryptography <em>qua</em> cryptography in any manner. If you live in a
country where use of cryptography even for authentication is forbidden
then please contact us so we can make special arrangements.
<p>
-Once you have all your information ready, and your public key is
-available on public key servers, send a message to
-<email/new-maintainer@debian.org/ to register as an offical Debian
-developer so that you will be able to upload your packages. This
-message must contain all the information discussed above. The message
-must also contain your PGP or RSA public key (extracted using <tt>pgp
--kxa</tt> in the case of PGP) for the database of keys which is
-distributed from <ftpsite/ftp.debian.org/ in
-<ftppath>/pub/debian/doc/debian-keyring.tar.gz</ftppath>, or the
-<package/debian-keyring/ package. Please be sure to sign your
-request message with your chosen PGP or RSA key.
- <p>
-Once this information is received and processed, you should be
-contacted with information about your new Debian maintainer account.
-If you don't hear anything within 7-14 days, please send a followup
-message asking if your original application was received. Do not
-re-send your original application, that will just confuse the
-new-maintainer team. Please be patient, especially near release
-points; mistakes do occasionally happen, and people do sometimes run
-out of volunteer time.
+To apply as a new maintainer, you need an existing Debian maintainer
+to verify your application (an <em>advocate</em>). After you have
+contributed to Debian for a while, and you want to apply to become a
+registered developer, an existing developer with whom you
+have worked over the past months has to express his belief that you
+can contribute to Debian successfully.
+ <p>
+When you have found an advocate, have your GPG key signed and have
+already contributed to Debian for a while, you're ready to apply.
+You can simply register on our <url id="&url-newmaint-apply;"
+name="application page">. After you have signed up, your advocate
+has to confirm your application. When your advocate has completed
+this step you will be assigned an Application Manager who will
+go with you through the necessary steps of the New Maintainer process.
+You can always check your status on the <url id="&url-newmaint-db;"
+name="applications status board">.
+ <p>
+For more details, please consult <url id="&url-newmaint;" name="New
+Maintainer's Corner"> at the Debian web site. Make sure that you
+are familiar with the necessary steps of the New Maintainer process
+before actually applying. If you are well prepared, you can save
+a lot of timer later on.
<sect id="mentors">Debian Mentors
<p>
-A mailing list called <email/debian-mentors@lists.debian.org/ which
-has been set up for novice maintainers who seek help with initial
-packaging and other developer-related issues. Every new developer is
-invited to subscribe to that list (see <ref id="mailing-lists"> for
-details).
+The mailing list &email-debian-mentors; has been set up for novice
+maintainers who seek help with initial packaging and other
+developer-related issues. Every new developer is invited to subscribe
+to that list (see <ref id="mailing-lists"> for details).
+ <p>
+Those who prefer one-on-one help (e.g., via private email) should also
+post to that list and an experienced developer will volunteer to help.
+
+
+ <chapt id="developer-duties">Debian Developer's Duties
+
+ <sect id="user-maint">Maintaining Your Debian Information
+ <p>
+There's a LDAP database containing many informations concerning all
+developers, you can access it at <url id="&url-debian-db;">. You can
+update your password (this password is propagated to most of the machines
+that are accessible to you), your address, your country, the latitude and
+longitude of the point where you live, phone and fax numbers, your
+preferred shell, your IRC nickname, your web page and the email that
+you're using as alias for your debian.org email. Most of the information
+is not accessible to the public, for more details about this
+database, please read its online documentation that you can find
+at <url id="&url-debian-db-doc;">.
+ <p>
+You have to keep the information available there up to date.
+
+ <sect id="key-maint">Maintaining Your Public Key
+ <p>
+Be very careful with your private keys. Do not place them on any
+public servers or multiuser machines, such as
+<tt>master.debian.org</tt>. Back your keys up; keep a copy offline.
+Read the documentation that comes with your software; read the <url
+id="&url-pgp-faq;" name="PGP FAQ">.
+ <p>
+If you add signatures to your public key, or add user identities, you
+can update the debian keyring by sending your key to the key server at
+<tt>&keyserver-host;</tt>. If you need to add a completely new key,
+or remove an old key, send mail to &email-debian-keyring;. The same
+key extraction routines discussed in <ref id="registering"> apply.
+ <p>
+You can find a more in-depth discussion of Debian key maintenance in
+the documentation for the <package>debian-keyring</package> package.
+
+ <sect id="inform-vacation">Going On Vacation Gracefully
+ <p>
+Most developers take vacations, and usually this means that they can't
+work for Debian and they can't be reached by email if any problem occurs.
+The other developers need to know that you're on vacation so that they'll
+do whatever is needed when such a problem occurs. Usually this means that
+other developers are allowed to NMU (see <ref id="nmu">) your package if a
+big problem (release critical bugs, security update, ...) occurs while
+you're on vacation.
+ <p>
+In order to inform the other developers, there's two things that you should do.
+First send a mail to &email-debian-private; giving the period of time when
+you will be on vacation. You can also give some special instructions on what to
+do if any problem occurs. Be aware that some people don't care for vacation
+notices and don't want to read them; you should prepend "[VAC] " to the
+subject of your message so that it can be easily filtered.
+ <p>
+Next you should update your information
+available in the Debian LDAP database and mark yourself as ``on vacation''
+(this information is only accessible to debian developers). Don't forget
+to remove the ``on vacation'' flag when you come back!
+
+ <sect id="upstream-coordination">Coordination With Upstream Developers
+ <p>
+A big part of your job as Debian maintainer will be to stay in contact
+with the upstream developers. Debian users will sometimes report bugs
+to the Bug Tracking System that are not specific to Debian. You
+must forward these bug reports to the upstream developers so that
+they can be fixed in a future release. It's not your job to fix
+non-Debian specific bugs. However, if you are able to do so, you are
+encouraged to contribute to upstream development of the package by
+providing a fix for the bug. Debian users and developers will often
+submit patches to fix upstream bugs, and you should evaluate and
+forward these patches upstream.
+ <p>
+If you need to modify the upstream sources in order to build a policy
+conformant package, then you should propose a nice fix to the upstream
+developers which can be included there, so that you won't have to
+modify the sources of the next upstream version. Whatever changes you
+need, always try not to fork from the upstream sources.
+
+ <sect id="rc-bugs">Managing Release Critical Bugs
+ <p>
+Release Critical Bugs (RCB) are all bugs that have severity
+<em>critical</em>, <em>grave</em> or <em>serious</em>.
+Those bugs can delay the Debian release
+and/or can justify the removal of a package at freeze time. That's why
+these bugs need to be corrected as quickly as possible. You must be
+aware that some developers who are part of the <url
+id="&url-debian-qa;" name="Debian Quality Assurance"> effort are
+following those bugs and try to help you whenever they are able. But if
+you can't fix such bugs within 2 weeks, you should either ask for help
+by sending a mail to the Quality Assurance (QA) group
+&email-debian-qa;, or explain your difficulties and present a plan to fix
+them by sending a mail to the proper bug report. Otherwise, people
+from the QA group may want to do a Non-Maintainer Upload (see
+<ref id="nmu">) after trying to contact you (they might not wait as long as
+usual before they do their NMU if they have seen no recent activity from you
+in the BTS).
+
+ <sect id="qa-effort">Quality Assurance Effort
+ <p>
+Even though there is a dedicated group of people for Quality
+Assurance, QA duties are not reserved solely for them. You can
+participate in this effort by keeping your packages as bug-free as
+possible, and as lintian-clean (see <ref id="lintian-reports">) as
+possible. If you do not find that possible, then you should consider
+orphaning some of your packages (see <ref
+id="orphaning">). Alternatively, you may ask the help of other people
+in order to catch up the backlog of bugs that you have (you can ask
+for help on &email-debian-qa; or &email-debian-devel;).
+
+ <sect id="mia-qa">Dealing with unreachable maintainers
+ <p>
+If you notice that a package is lacking maintenance, you should
+make sure the maintainer is active and will continue to work on
+his packages. Try contacting him yourself.
+ <p>
+If you do not get a reply after a few weeks you should collect all
+useful information about this maintainer. Start by logging into
+the <url id="&url-debian-db;" name="Debian Developer's Database">
+and doing a full search to check whether the maintainer is on vacation
+and when he was last seen. Collect any important package names
+he maintains and any Release Critical bugs filled against them.
+ <p>
+Send all this information to &email-debian-qa;, in order to let the
+QA people do whatever is needed.
+
+ <sect>Retiring Gracefully
<p>
-Those who prefer one-on-one help (e.g., via private email) should
-also post to that list and an experienced developer will volunteer to
-help.
+If you choose to leave the Debian project, you should make sure you do
+the following steps:
+<enumlist>
+ <item>
+Orphan all your packages, as described in <ref id="orphaning">.
+ <item>
+Send an email about how you are leaving the project to
+&email-debian-private;.
+ <item>
+Notify the Debian key ring maintainers that you are leaving by
+emailing to &email-debian-keyring;.
+ </enumlist>
- <chapt id="servers">Mailing Lists and Servers
+ <chapt id="servers">Mailing Lists, Servers, and Other Machines
+ <p>
+In this chapter you will find a very brief road map of the Debian
+mailing lists, the main Debian servers, and other Debian machines
+which may be available to you as a developer.
<sect id="mailing-lists">Mailing lists
<p>
-The mailing list server is at <tt/lists.debian.org/. Mail
-<tt/debian-<var/foo/-REQUEST@lists.debian.org/, where
-<tt/debian-<var/foo// is the name of the list, with the word
-<tt/subscribe/ in the <em/Subject/ to subscribe or <tt/unsubscribe/ to
-unsubscribe. More detailed instructions on how to subscribe and
-unsubscribe to the mailing lists can be found at <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/subscribe">, <url
-id="ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/doc/mailing-lists.txt"> or locally in
-<tt>/usr/doc/debian/mailing-lists.txt</tt> if you have the
+The mailing list server is at <tt>&lists-host;</tt>. Mail
+<tt>debian-<var>foo</var>-REQUEST@&lists-host;</tt>, where
+<tt>debian-<var>foo</var></tt> is the name of the list, with the word
+<tt>subscribe</tt> in the <em>Subject</em> to subscribe to the list or
+<tt>unsubscribe</tt> to unsubscribe. More detailed instructions on
+how to subscribe and unsubscribe to the mailing lists can be found at
+<url id="&url-debian-lists-subscribe;">, <url id="&url-debian-lists;">
+or locally in &file-mail-lists; if you have the
<package>doc-debian</package> package installed.
<p>
-When replying to messages on the mailing list, please do not send
-a carbon copy (<tt/CC/--this does not mean `courtesy copy') to
-the original poster unless they explicitly request that this be
-done. Anyone who posts to a mailing list should read it to see the
-responses.
- <p>
-In addition, all messages should usually only be sent to one of the
-following mailing lists: <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/,
-<email/debian-policy@lists.debian.org/,
-<email/debian-user@lists.debian.org/,
-<email/debian-announce@lists.debian.org/, or
-<email/debian-devel-announce@lists.debian.org/. Additional mailing
-lists are available for special purposes; see <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/subscribe">. Cross-posting
+When replying to messages on the mailing list, please do not send a
+carbon copy (<tt>CC</tt>) to the original poster unless they explicitly
+request to be copied. Anyone who posts to a mailing list should read
+it to see the responses.
+ <p>
+The following are the core Debian mailing lists: &email-debian-devel;,
+&email-debian-policy;, &email-debian-user;, &email-debian-private;,
+&email-debian-announce;, and &email-debian-devel-announce;. All
+developers are expected to be subscribed to at least
+&email-debian-devel-announce;. There are
+other mailing lists available for a variety of special topics; see
+<url id="&url-debian-lists-subscribe;"> for a list. Cross-posting
(sending the same message to multiple lists) is discouraged.
<p>
-<email/debian-private@lists.debian.org/ is a special mailing lists for
-private discussions amongst Debian developers. It is meant to be used
-for posts which for whatever reason should not be published
-publically. As such, it is a low volume list, and users are urged not
-to use <email/debian-private@lists.debian.org/ unless it is really
-necessary. Moreover, do <em/not/ forward email from that list to
-anyone.
+&email-debian-private; is a special mailing list for private
+discussions amongst Debian developers. It is meant to be used for
+posts which for whatever reason should not be published publically.
+As such, it is a low volume list, and users are urged not to use
+&email-debian-private; unless it is really necessary. Moreover, do
+<em>not</em> forward email from that list to anyone. Archives of this
+list are not available on the web for obvious reasons, but you can see
+them using your shell account <tt>master.debian.org</tt> and looking
+in the <file>~debian/archive/debian-private</file> directory.
+ <p>
+&email-debian-email; is a special mailing list used as a grab-bag
+for Debian related correspondence such as contacting upstream authors
+about licenses, bugs, etc. or discussing the project with others where it
+might be useful to have the discussion archived somewhere.
<p>
As ever on the net, please trim down the quoting of articles you're
replying to. In general, please adhere to the usual conventions for
posting messages.
<p>
Online archives of mailing lists are available at <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/Lists-Archives/">.
+id="&url-lists-archives;">.
- <sect id="servers-master">The master server
+ <sect id="server-machines">Debian servers
<p>
-The master server, <tt/master.debian.org/, holds the canonical copy
-of the Debian archive (excluding the non-U.S. packages). Generally,
-package uploads go to this server; see <ref id="upload">.
+Debian servers are well known servers which serve critical functions
+in the Debian project. Every developer should know what these servers
+are and what they do.
<p>
-<tt/master.debian.org/ is the canonical location for the Bug Tracking
-System (BTS). If you plan on doing some statistical analysis or
-processing of Debian bugs, this would be the place to do it. Please
-describe your plans on <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ before
-implementing anything, however, to reduce unnecessary duplication of
-effort or wasted processing time.
+If you have a problem with the operation of a Debian server, and you
+think that the system operators need to be notified of this problem,
+please find the contact address for the particular machine at <url
+id="&url-devel-machines;">. If you have a non-operating problems
+(such as packages to be remove, suggestions for the web site, etc.),
+generally you'll report a bug against a ``pseudo-package''. See <ref
+id="submit-bug"> for information on how to submit bugs.
+
+ <sect1 id="servers-master">The master server
+ <p>
+<tt>master.debian.org</tt> is the canonical location for the Bug
+Tracking System (BTS). If you plan on doing some statistical analysis
+or processing of Debian bugs, this would be the place to do it.
+Please describe your plans on &email-debian-devel; before implementing
+anything, however, to reduce unnecessary duplication of effort or
+wasted processing time.
<p>
-All Debian developers have accounts on <tt/master.debian.org/. Please
-take care to protect your password to this machine. Try to avoid
-login or upload methods which send passwords over the Internet in the
-clear.
+All Debian developers have accounts on <tt>master.debian.org</tt>.
+Please take care to protect your password to this machine. Try to
+avoid login or upload methods which send passwords over the Internet
+in the clear.
<p>
-If you find a problem with <tt/master.debian.org/ such as disk full,
-suspicious activity, or whatever, send an email to
-<email>debian-admin@debian.org</email>.
+If you find a problem with <tt>master.debian.org</tt> such as disk
+full, suspicious activity, or whatever, send an email to
+&email-debian-admin;.
- <sect id="servers-ftp">The FTP servers
+ <sect1 id="servers-ftp-master">The ftp-master server
+ <p>
+The ftp-master server, <tt>ftp-master.debian.org</tt> (or
+<tt>auric.debian.org</tt>), holds the canonical copy of the Debian
+archive (excluding the non-US packages). Generally, package uploads
+go to this server; see <ref id="upload">.
<p>
+Problems with the Debian FTP archive generally need to be reported as
+bugs against the <package>ftp.debian.org</package> pseudo-package or
+an email to &email-ftpmaster;, but also see the procedures in
+<ref id="archive-manip">.
- <sect id="servers-www">The WWW servers
+ <sect1 id="servers-www">The WWW server
<p>
-The main web server, <tt/www.debian.org/, is also known as
-<tt/va.debian.org/. All developers are given accounts on this
+The main web server, <tt>www.debian.org</tt>, is also known as
+<tt>klecker.debian.org</tt>. All developers are given accounts on this
machine.
<p>
If you have some Debian-specific information which you want to serve
-up on the web, you can do do this by putting material in the
-<tt>public_html</tt> directory under your home directory. You can do
-this on either <tt/va.debian.org/ or <tt/master.debian.org/. Any
-material you put in those areas are accessible via the URLs
-<tt>http://www.debian.org/~<var>user-id</var>/</tt> and
-<tt>http://master.debian.org/~<var>user-id</var>/</tt>, respectively.
-Please do <em>not</em> put any materials on Debian servers which do
-not relate to Debian.
+up on the web, you can do this by putting material in the
+<file>public_html</file> directory under your home directory. You should
+do this on <tt>klecker.debian.org</tt>. Any material you put in those areas
+are accessible via the URL
+<tt>http://people.debian.org/~<var>user-id</var>/</tt>.
+You should only use this particular location because it will be backed up,
+whereas on other hosts it won't. Please do not put any material on Debian
+servers not relating to Debian, unless you have prior permission.
+Send mail to &email-debian-devel; if you have any questions.
<p>
If you find a problem with the Debian web server, you should generally
submit a bug against the pseudo-package,
<package>www.debian.org</package>. First check whether or not someone
-else has already reported the problem on the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/db/pa/lwww.debian.org.html" name="Bug
-Tracking System">.
+else has already reported the problem on the
+<url id="http://bugs.debian.org/www.debian.org" name="Bug Tracking System">.
- <sect id="servers-cvs">The CVS server
+
+ <sect1 id="servers-cvs">The CVS server
<p>
-<tt/cvs.debian.org/ is also known as <tt/va.debian.org/, discussed
-above. If you need the use of a publically accessible CVS server, for
-instance, to help coordinate work on a package between many different
-developers, you can request a CVS area on the server. Generally,
-<tt/cvs.debian.org/ offers a combination of local CVS access,
-anonymous client-server read-only access, and full client-server
-access through <prgn>ssh</prgn>.
+<tt>cvs.debian.org</tt> is also known as <tt>klecker.debian.org</tt>,
+discussed above. If you need to use a publically accessible CVS
+server, for instance, to help coordinate work on a package between
+many different developers, you can request a CVS area on the server.
+ <p>
+Generally, <tt>cvs.debian.org</tt> offers a combination of local CVS
+access, anonymous client-server read-only access, and full
+client-server access through <prgn>ssh</prgn>. Also, the CVS area can
+be accessed read-only via the Web at <url id="&url-cvsweb;">.
<p>
To request a CVS area, send a request via email to
-<email>debian-admin@debian.org</email>.
+&email-debian-admin;. Include the name of the requested CVS area,
+Debian account should own the CVS root area, and why you need it.
- <sect id="servers-mirrors">Mirrors of Debian servers
+ <sect1 id="servers-mirrors">Mirrors of Debian servers
<p>
The web and FTP servers have several mirrors available. Please do not
put heavy load on the canonical FTP or web servers. Ideally, the
canonical servers only mirror out to a first tier of mirrors, and all
user access is to the mirrors. This allows Debian to better spread
-our bandwidth requirements over several servers and networks. Note
+its bandwidth requirements over several servers and networks. Note
that newer push mirroring techniques ensure that mirrors are as
up-to-date as they can be.
<p>
The main web page listing the available public FTP (and, usually,
-HTTP) servers can be found at <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist">. More information
-concerning mirrors can be found at <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/devel/mirror/">. This useful page includes
-information and tools which can be helpful if you are interested in
-setting up your own mirror, either for internal or public access.
+HTTP) servers can be found at <url id="&url-debian-mirrors;">. More
+information concerning Debian mirrors can be found at <url
+id="&url-debian-mirroring;">. This useful page includes information
+and tools which can be helpful if you are interested in setting up
+your own mirror, either for internal or public access.
<p>
Note that mirrors are generally run by third-parties who are
interested in helping Debian. As such, developers generally do not
have accounts on these machines.
+ <sect id="other-machines">Other Debian Machines
+ <p>
+There are other Debian machines which may be made available to you.
+You can use these for Debian-related purposes as you see fit. Please
+be kind to system administrators, and do not use up tons and tons of
+disk space, network bandwidth, or CPU without first getting the
+approval of the local maintainers. Usually these machines are run by
+volunteers. Generally, these machines are for porting activities.
+ <p>
+Aside from the servers mentioned in <ref id="server-machines">, there
+is a list of machines available to Debian developers at <url
+id="&url-devel-machines;">.
+
+
+
<chapt id="archive">The Debian Archive
<sect>Overview
<p>
-The Debian GNU/Linux distribution consists of a lot of Debian packages
-(<tt/.deb/'s, currently more than 1500) and a few additional files
-(documentation, installation disk images, etc.).
+The &debian-formal; distribution consists of a lot of Debian packages
+(<tt>.deb</tt>'s, currently around &number-of-pkgs;) and a few
+additional files (documentation, installation disk images, etc.).
<p>
-Here is an example directory tree of a complete Debian distribution:
-<example>
-main/
-main/binary-all/
-main/binary-all/admin/
-main/binary-all/base/
-main/binary-all/comm/
-main/binary-all/devel/
- ...
-main/binary-i386/
-main/binary-i386/admin/
-main/binary-i386/base/
- ...
-main/binary-m68k
-main/binary-m68k/admin/
-main/binary-m68k/base/
- ...
-main/source/
-main/source/admin/
-main/source/base/
- ...
-main/disks-i386/
-main/disks-m68k/
- ...
-
-contrib/
-contrib/binary-all/
-contrib/binary-i386/
-contrib/binary-m68k/
- ...
-contrib/source/
-
-non-free/
-non-free/binary-all/
-non-free/binary-i386/
-non-free/binary-m68k/
- ...
-non-free/source/
-</example>
+Here is an example directory tree of a complete Debian archive:
+ <p>
+&sample-dist-dirtree;
+ <p>
+As you can see, the top-level directory contains two directories,
+<tt>dists/</tt> and <tt>pool/</tt>. The latter is a ``pool'' in which the
+packages actually are, and which is handled by the archive maintenance
+database and the accompanying programs. The former contains the
+distributions, <em>stable</em>, <em>testing</em> and <em>unstable</em>.
+Each of those distribution directories is divided in equivalent
+subdirectories purpose of which is equal, so we will only explain how it
+looks in stable. The <tt>Packages</tt> and <tt>Sources</tt> files in the
+distribution subdirectories can reference files in the <tt>pool/</tt>
+directory.
<p>
-As you can see, the top-level directory of the distribution contains
-three directories, namely <em>main</>, <em>contrib</>, and
-p<em>non-free</>. These directories are called <em>sections</>.
+<tt>dists/stable</tt> contains three directories, namely <em>main</em>,
+<em>contrib</em>, and <em>non-free</em>.
<p>
-In each section, there is a directory with the source packages
-(source), a directory for each supported architecture (binary-i386,
-binary-m68k, etc.), and a directory for architecture independent
-packages (binary-all).
+In each of the areas, there is a directory with the source packages
+(<tt>source</tt>), a directory for each supported architecture
+(<tt>binary-i386</tt>, <tt>binary-m68k</tt>, etc.), and a directory
+for architecture independent packages (<tt>binary-all</tt>).
<p>
-The <em/main/ section contains additional directories which holds the
-disk images and some essential pieces of documentation required for
-installing the Debian distribution on a specific architecture
-(disks-i386, disks-m68k, etc.).
+The <em>main</em> area contains additional directories which holds
+the disk images and some essential pieces of documentation required
+for installing the Debian distribution on a specific architecture
+(<tt>disks-i386</tt>, <tt>disks-m68k</tt>, etc.).
<p>
-The <em/binary/ and <em/source/ directories are divided further into
-<em/subsections/.
+The <em>binary-*</em> and <em>source</em> directories are divided
+further into <em>subsections</em>.
<sect>Sections
<p>
-The <em>main</em> section is what makes up the <em>official Debian
-GNU/Linux distribution</>. This is because the packages in the other
-two sections do not fully comply with all our guidelines. As such,
-they are not officially part of Debian.
- <p>
-For example, every package in the main section must fully comply
-with the <url id="http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines"
-name="Debian Free Software Guidelines"> (DFSG) and with all other
-policy requirements as described in the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/" name="Debian Policy
-Manual">. (The DFSG is our definition of ``free software.'' Check out
-the Debian Policy Manual for details.)
- <p>
-The packages which do not apply to the DFSG are placed in the
-<em/non-free/ section. These packages are not considered as part of
-the Debian distribution, though we support their use, and we provide
-infrastructure (such as our bug-tracking system and mailing lists) for
-non-free software packages.
- <p>
-Packages in the <em/contrib/ section have to apply to the DFSG, but
-fail other requirements. For instance, they might depend on non-free
-packages.
- <p>
-The <url id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/" name="Debian
-Policy Manual"> contains a more exact definition of the three
-sections. The above discussion is just an introduction.
+The <em>main</em> section of the Debian archive is what makes up the
+<strong>official &debian-formal; distribution</strong>. The
+<em>main</em> section is official because it fully complies with all
+our guidelines. The other two sections do not, to different degrees;
+as such, they are <strong>not</strong> officially part of
+&debian-formal;.
+ <p>
+Every package in the main section must fully comply with the <url
+id="&url-dfsg;" name="Debian Free Software Guidelines"> (DFSG) and
+with all other policy requirements as described in the <url
+id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian Policy Manual">. The DFSG is
+our definition of ``free software.'' Check out the Debian Policy
+Manual for details.
+ <p>
+Packages in the <em>contrib</em> section have to comply with the DFSG,
+but may fail other requirements. For instance, they may depend on
+non-free packages.
+ <p>
+Packages which do not apply to the DFSG are placed in the
+<em>non-free</em> section. These packages are not considered as part
+of the Debian distribution, though we support their use, and we
+provide infrastructure (such as our bug-tracking system and mailing
+lists) for non-free software packages.
+ <p>
+The <url id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian Policy Manual">
+contains a more exact definition of the three sections. The above
+discussion is just an introduction.
<p>
The separation of the three sections at the top-level of the archive
is important for all people who want to distribute Debian, either via
FTP servers on the Internet or on CD-ROMs: by distributing only the
-<em/main/ and <em/contrib/ sections, one can avoid any legal risks.
-Some packages in the <em/non-free/ section do not allow commercial
-distribution, for example.
+<em>main</em> and <em>contrib</em> sections, one can avoid any legal
+risks. Some packages in the <em>non-free</em> section do not allow
+commercial distribution, for example.
<p>
On the other hand, a CD-ROM vendor could easily check the individual
-package licenses of the packages in <em/non-free/ and include as many
-on the CD-ROMs as he's allowed. (Since this varies greatly from vendor
-to vendor, this job can't be done by the Debian developers.)
+package licenses of the packages in <em>non-free</em> and include as
+many on the CD-ROMs as he's allowed to. (Since this varies greatly from
+vendor to vendor, this job can't be done by the Debian developers.)
<sect>Architectures
more and more popular, the kernel was ported to other architectures,
too.
<p>
-The Linux 2.0 kernel supports Intel, DEC Alphas, SUN Sparcs, M68000
-(a.k.a. m68k) machines (like Atari and Amiga), MIPS, and PowerPC
-(a.k.a. ppc).
+The Linux 2.0 kernel supports Intel x86, DEC Alpha, SPARC, Motorola
+680x0 (like Atari, Amiga and Macintoshes), MIPS, and PowerPC. The
+Linux 2.2 kernel supports even more architectures, including ARM and
+UltraSPARC. Since Linux supports these platforms, Debian decided that
+it should, too. Therefore, Debian has ports underway; in fact, we
+also have ports underway to non-Linux kernel. Aside from
+<em>i386</em> (our name for Intel x86), there is <em>m68k</em>,
+<em>alpha</em>, <em>powerpc</em>, <em>sparc</em>, <em>hurd-i386</em>,
+and <em>arm</em>, as of this writing.
+ <p>
+&debian-formal; 1.3 is only available as <em>i386</em>. Debian 2.0
+shipped for <em>i386</em> and <em>m68k</em> architectures. Debian 2.1
+ships for the <em>i386</em>, <em>m68k</em>, <em>alpha</em>, and
+<em>sparc</em> architectures. Debian 2.2 adds support for the
+<em>powerpc</em> and <em>arm</em> architectures.
<p>
-Debian GNU/Linux 1.3 is only available for Intel platforms. Debian
-2.0 supports Intel and m68k architectures. The next version of Debian
-is likely to also support Alpha, PPC, and Sparc architectures, if not
-more.
+Information for developers or uses about the specific ports are
+available at the <url id="&url-debian-ports;" name="Debian Ports web
+pages">.
<sect>Subsections
<p>
-The sections <em/main/, <em/contrib/, and <em/non-free/ are split into
-<em/subsections/ to simplify the installation process and the
-maintainance of the archive. Subections are not formally defined,
-excepting perhaps for the "base" subsection. Subsections exist simply
-to simpilfy the organization and browsing of available packages.
-Please check the current Debian distribution to see which sections are
-available.
-
-
+The sections <em>main</em>, <em>contrib</em>, and <em>non-free</em>
+are split into <em>subsections</em> to simplify the installation
+process and the maintainance of the archive. Subsections are not
+formally defined, except perhaps the `base' subsection.
+Subsections simply exist to simplify the organization and browsing of
+available packages. Please check the current Debian distribution to
+see which sections are available.
+ <p>
+Note however that with the introduction of package pools (see the top-level
+<em>pool/</em> directory), the subsections in the form of subdirectories
+will eventually cease to exist. They will be kept in the packages' `Section'
+header fields, though.
<sect>Packages
<p>
-There are two types of Debian packages, namely <em/source/ and
-<em/binary/ packages.
+There are two types of Debian packages, namely <em>source</em> and
+<em>binary</em> packages.
<p>
-Source packages consist of either two or three files: a <tt/.dsc/
-file, and either one <tt/.tar.gz/ file or an <tt/.orig.tar.gz/ and a
-<tt/.diff.gz/ file.
+Source packages consist of either two or three files: a <tt>.dsc</tt>
+file, and either a <tt>.tar.gz</tt> file or both an
+<tt>.orig.tar.gz</tt> and a <tt>.diff.gz</tt> file.
<p>
If a package is developed specially for Debian and is not distributed
-outside of Debian, there is just one <tt/.tar.gz/ file which contains
-the sources of the program.
- <p>
-If a package is distributed elsewhere too, the <tt/.orig.tar.gz/ file
-stores the so-called <em/upstream source code/, that is the source
-code that's distributed from the <em/upstream maintainer/ (often the
-author of the software). In this case, the <tt/.diff.gz/ contains the
+outside of Debian, there is just one <tt>.tar.gz</tt> file which
+contains the sources of the program. If a package is distributed
+elsewhere too, the <tt>.orig.tar.gz</tt> file stores the so-called
+<em>upstream source code</em>, that is the source code that's
+distributed from the <em>upstream maintainer</em> (often the author of
+the software). In this case, the <tt>.diff.gz</tt> contains the
changes made by the Debian maintainer.
<p>
-The <tt/.dsc/ lists all the files in the source package together with
-checksums (md5sums) and some additional info about the package
-(maintainer, version, etc.).
+The <tt>.dsc</tt> lists all the files in the source package together
+with checksums (<prgn>md5sums</prgn>) and some additional info about
+the package (maintainer, version, etc.).
<sect>Distribution directories
<p>
-If you have a look at the Debian FTP server or one of its mirrors,
-you'll discover that there is one additional directory level on top of
-the directory tree, as described in the previous chapter. These
-directories are the <em/distribution directories/. All distributions
-are contained in the <tt/dists/ directory in the top-level of the
-Debian archive (the symlinks from the top-level directory to the
-distributions themselves is for backwards compatability and
-deprecated).
+The directory system described in the previous chapter is itself
+contained within <em>distribution directories</em>. Each
+distribution is actually contained in the <tt>pool</tt> directory in the
+top-level of the Debian archive itself.
+ <p>
+To summarize, the Debian archive has a root directory within an FTP
+server. For instance, at the mirror site,
+<ftpsite>ftp.us.debian.org</ftpsite>, the Debian archive itself is
+contained in <ftppath>/debian</ftppath>, which is a common location
+(another is <tt>/pub/debian</tt>).
+ <p>
+A distribution is comprised of Debian source and binary packages, and the
+respective <tt>Sources</tt> and <tt>Packages</tt> index files, containing
+the header information from all those packages. The former are kept in the
+<tt>pool/</tt> directory, while the latter are kept in the <tt>dists/</tt>
+directory of the archive (because of backwards compatibility).
+
- <sect1>Stable, unstable, and sometimes frozen
+ <sect1 id="sec-dists">Stable, testing, and unstable
<p>
-There is always a distribution called <em/stable/ (residing in
-<tt>dists/stable</tt>) and one called <em/unstable/ (residing in
-<tt>dists/unstable</tt>. This reflects the development process of the
+There are always distributions called <em>stable</em> (residing in
+<tt>dists/stable</tt>), one called <em>testing</em> (residing in
+<tt>dists/testing</tt>), and one called <em>unstable</em> (residing in
+<tt>dists/unstable</tt>). This reflects the development process of the
Debian project.
<p>
-The ``development'' is done in the <em/unstable/ distribution (that's
-why this distribution is sometimes called the <em/development
-distribution/). Every Debian developer can update his or her packages in
-this distribution at any time. Thus, the contents of this distribution
-change from day to day and since no special effort is done to test
-this distribution it's sometimes ``unstable.''
- <p>
-After a period of development, the <em/unstable/ distribution is
-copied in a new distribution directory, called <em/frozen/. When that
-occurs, no changes are allowed to the frozen distribution except bug
-fixes; that's why it's called ``frozen.'' After another month or a
-little longer, the <em/frozen/ distribution is renamed to <em/stable/,
-overriding the old <em/stable/ distribution, which is removed at that
-time.
+Active development is done in the <em>unstable</em> distribution
+(that's why this distribution is sometimes called the <em>development
+distribution</em>). Every Debian developer can update his or her
+packages in this distribution at any time. Thus, the contents of this
+distribution change from day-to-day. Since no special effort is done
+to make sure everything in this distribution is working properly, it is
+sometimes ``unstable.''
+ <p>
+Packages get copied from <em>unstable</em> to <em>testing</em> if they
+satisfy certain criteria. To get into <em>testing</em> distribution, a
+package needs to be in the archive for two weeks and not have any
+release critical bugs. After that period, it will propagate into
+<em>testing</em> as soon as anything it depends on is also added. This
+process is automatic. You can see some notes on this system as well
+as <tt>update_excuses</tt> (describing which packages are valid
+candidates, which are not, and why not) at <url
+id="&url-testing-maint;">.
+ <p>
+After a period of development, once the release manager deems fit, the
+<em>testing</em> distribution is frozen, meaning that the policies
+which control how packages move from <em>unstable</em> to testing are
+tightened. Packages which are too buggy are removed. No changes are
+allowed into <em>testing</em> except for bug fixes. After some time
+has elapsed, depending on progress, the <em>testing</em> distribution
+goes into a `deep freeze', when no changes are made to it except those
+needed for the installation system. This is called a ``test cycle'',
+and it can last up to two weeks. There can be several test cycles,
+until the distribution is prepared for release, as decided by the
+release manager. At the end of the last test cycle, the
+<em>testing</em> distribution is renamed to <em>stable</em>,
+overriding the old <em>stable</em> distribution, which is removed at
+that time (although it can be found at <tt>&archive-host;</tt>).
<p>
This development cycle is based on the assumption that the
-<em/unstable/ distribution becomes <em/stable/ after passing a period
-of testing as <em/frozen/. Unfortunately, even once a distribution is
-considered stable, a few bugs inevitably remain--that's why the stable
-distribution is updated every now and then. However, these updates are
-tested very carefully and have to be introduced into the archive
-individually to reduce the risk of introducing new bugs. You can find
-proposed additions to <em/stable/ in the <tt/proposed-updates/
-directory. Those packages in <tt/proposed-updates/ that pass muster
-are periodically moved as a batch into the stable distribution and the
-revision level of the stable distribution is incremented (e.g., `1.3'
-becomes `1.3r1', `2.0r2' becomes `2.0r3', and so forth).
- <p>
-Note that development is continued during the ``freeze'' period, since
-a new <em/unstable/ distribution is be created when the older
-<em/unstable/ is moved to <em/frozen/.
- <p>
-In summary, there is always a <em/stable/ and an <em/unstable/
-distribution available, and the <em/frozen/ distribution shows up for
-a month or so from time to time.
-
+<em>unstable</em> distribution becomes <em>stable</em> after passing a
+period of being in <em>testing</em>. Even once a distribution is
+considered stable, a few bugs inevitably remain &mdash that's why the
+stable distribution is updated every now and then. However, these
+updates are tested very carefully and have to be introduced into the
+archive individually to reduce the risk of introducing new bugs. You
+can find proposed additions to <em>stable</em> in the
+<tt>proposed-updates</tt> directory. Those packages in
+<tt>proposed-updates</tt> that pass muster are periodically moved as a
+batch into the stable distribution and the revision level of the
+stable distribution is incremented (e.g., `1.3' becomes `1.3r1',
+`2.0r2' becomes `2.0r3', and so forth).
+ <p>
+Note that development under <em>unstable</em> continues during the
+``freeze'' period, since the <em>unstable</em> distribution remains in
+place in parallel with <em>testing</em>.
<sect1>Experimental
<p>
-The <em/experimental/ distribution is a specialty distribution. It is
-not a full distribution in the same sense that 'stable' and 'unstable'
-are. Instead, it is meant to be a temporary staging area for highly
-experimental software where there's a good chance that the software
-could break your system. Users who download and install packages from
-<em/experimental/ are expected to have been duly warned. In short,
-all bets are off for the <em/experimental/ distribution.
+The <em>experimental</em> distribution is a specialty distribution.
+It is not a full distribution in the same sense as `stable' and
+`unstable' are. Instead, it is meant to be a temporary staging area
+for highly experimental software where there's a good chance that the
+software could break your system, or software that's just too unstable
+even for the <em>unstable</em> distribution (but there is a reason to
+package it nevertheless). Users who download and install
+packages from <em>experimental</em> are expected to have been duly
+warned. In short, all bets are off for the <em>experimental</em>
+distribution.
+ <p>
+If there is a chance that the software could do grave damage to a system,
+it is likely to be better to put it into <em>experimental</em>.
+For instance, an experimental compressed file system should probably go
+into <em>experimental</em>.
+ <p>
+Whenever there is a new upstream version of a package that introduces new
+features but breaks a lot of old ones, it should either not be uploaded, or
+be uploaded to <em>experimental</em>. A new, beta, version of some software
+which uses completely different configuration can go into
+<em>experimental</em>, at the maintainer's discretion. If you are working
+on an incompatible or complex upgrade situation, you can also use
+<em>experimental</em> as a staging area, so that testers can get early
+access.
+ <p>
+Some experimental software can still go into <em>unstable</em>, with a few
+warnings in the description, but that isn't recommended because packages
+from <em>unstable</em> are expected to propagate to <em>testing</em> and
+thus to <em>stable</em>.
<p>
-Developers should be very selective in the use of the
-<em/experimental/ distribution. Even if a package is highly unstable,
-it could well still go into <em/unstable/; just state a few warnings
-in the description. However, if there is a chance that the software
-could do grave damage to a system, it might be better to put it into
-<em/experimental/.
+New software which isn't likely to damage your system can go directly into
+<em>unstable</em>.
<p>
-For instance, an experimental encrypted file system should probably go
-into experimental. A new, beta, version of some software which uses
-completely different configuration might go into experimental at the
-maintainer's discretion. New software which isn't likely to damage
-your system can go into <em/unstable/.
+An alternative to <em>experimental</em> is to use your personal web space
+on <tt>people.debian.org</tt> (<tt>klecker.debian.org</tt>).
<sect id="codenames">Release code names
<p>
-Every released Debian distribution has a <em/code name/: Debian 1.1 is
-called <em/buzz/; Debian 1.2, <em/rex/; Debian 1.3, <em/bo/; Debian
-2.0, <em/hamm/; Debian 2.1, <em/slink/. There is also a
-"pseudo-distribution", called <em/sid/, which is contains packages for
-architectures which are not yet officially supported or released by
-Debian. These architectures are planned to be integrated into the
-mainstream distribution at some future date.
- <p>
-Since the Debian has an open development model (i.e., everyone can
-participate and follow the development) even the ``development
-versions'' (unstable) are distributed via the Internet on the Debian
-FTP server. This FTP server is mirrored by lots of other
-systems. Thus, if we'd call the directory which contains the
-development version simply `unstable', then we would have to rename it
+Every released Debian distribution has a <em>code name</em>: Debian
+1.1 is called `buzz'; Debian 1.2, `rex'; Debian 1.3, `bo'; Debian 2.0,
+`hamm'; Debian 2.1, `slink'; Debian 2.2, `potato'; and Debian 3.0, `woody'. There is also
+a ``pseudo-distribution'', called `sid', which is the current
+`unstable' distribution; since packages are moved from `unstable' to
+`testing' as they approach stability, `sid' itself is never released.
+As well as the usual contents of a Debian distribution, `sid' contains
+packages for architectures which are not yet officially supported or
+released by Debian. These architectures are planned to be integrated
+into the mainstream distribution at some future date.
+ <p>
+Since Debian has an open development model (i.e., everyone can
+participate and follow the development) even the `unstable' and `testing'
+distributions are distributed to the Internet through the Debian FTP and
+HTTP server network. Thus, if we had called the directory which contains
+the release candidate version `testing', then we would have to rename it
to `stable' when the version is released, which would cause all FTP
-mirrors to re-get the whole distribution (which is already very
-large!).
+mirrors to re-retrieve the whole distribution (which is quite large).
<p>
-On the other hand, if we would call the distribution directories
+On the other hand, if we called the distribution directories
<em>Debian-x.y</em> from the beginning, people would think that Debian
-release <em>x.y</> is available. (This happened in the past, where a
+release <em>x.y</em> is available. (This happened in the past, where a
CD-ROM vendor built a Debian 1.0 CD-ROM based on a pre-1.0 development
version. That's the reason why the first official Debian release was
1.1, and not 1.0.)
<p>
-Thus, the names of the distribution directories in the archive should
-stay the same during the development period and after the release but
-there may be symbolic links, which can be changed.
- <p>
-That's why the distribution directories use the <em/code names/ and
-there are symbolic links <em/stable/, <em/unstable/, <em/frozen/,
-etc., which point to the appriopriate release directories.
+Thus, the names of the distribution directories in the archive are
+determined by their code names and not their release status (e.g.,
+`slink'). These names stay the same during the development period and
+after the release; symbolic links, which can be changed easily,
+indicate the currently released stable distribution. That's why the
+real distribution directories use the <em>code names</em>, while
+symbolic links for <em>stable</em>, <em>testing</em>, and
+<em>unstable</em> point to the appropriate release directories.
<chapt id="upload">Package uploads
- <sect>Announcing new packages
+ <sect>New packages
<p>
If you want to create a new package for the Debian distribution, you
-should first check the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/prospective-packages.html"
-name="Work-Needing and Prospective Packages (WNPP)"> page. Checking
-the WNPP ensures that no one is already working on packaging that
-software, and that effort is not duplicated. Assuming no one else is
-already working on your prospective package, you must then send a
-short email to <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ describing your
-plan to create a new package. You should set the subject of the email
-to "intent to package <var/foobar/", substituting the name of the new
-package for <var/foobar/.
- <p>
-There are a number of reasons why we ask maintainers to follow these
-steps.
+should first check the <url id="&url-wnpp;" name="Work-Needing and
+Prospective Packages (WNPP)"> list. Checking the WNPP list ensures that
+no one is already working on packaging that software, and that effort is
+not duplicated. Read the <url id="&url-wnpp;" name="WNPP web pages"> for
+more information.
+ <p>
+Assuming no one else is already working on your prospective package,
+you must then submit a bug report (<ref id="submit-bug">) against the
+pseudo package <tt>wnpp</tt>
+describing your plan to create a new package, including, but not
+limiting yourself to, a description of the package, the license of the
+prospective package and the current URL where it can be downloaded
+from.
+ <p>
+You should set the subject of the bug to ``ITP: <var>foo</var>
+-- <var>short description</var>'', substituting the name of the new
+package for <var>foo</var>. The severity of the bug report must be set
+to <em>wishlist</em>. If you feel it's necessary, send a copy to
+&email-debian-devel; by putting the address in the <tt>X-Debbugs-CC:</tt> header
+of the message (no, don't use <tt>CC:</tt>, because that way the message's subject
+won't indicate the bug number).
+ <p>
+Please include a <tt>Closes: bug#<var>nnnnn</var></tt> entry on the
+changelog of the new package in order for the bug report to be
+automatically closed once the new package is installed on the archive
+(<ref id="upload-bugfix">).
+ <p>
+There are a number of reasons why we ask maintainers to announce their
+intentions:
<list compact>
<item>
It helps the (potentially new) maintainer to tap into the experience
-of people on the list, and lets them know if any one else is working
+of people on the list, and lets them know if anyone else is working
on it already.
-
<item>
It lets other people thinking about working on the package know that
-there already is a volunteer, and efforts may be shared. The "intent
-to package" message to <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ will be
-picked up the the WNPP maintainer, and your intention will be
-published in subsequent versions of the WNPP document.
-
+there already is a volunteer, so efforts may be shared.
<item>
It lets the rest of the maintainers know more about the package than
-the one line description and the changelog entry "Initial version"
-that generally gets posted to <tt/debian-devel-changes/ by default.
-
+the one line description and the usual changelog entry ``Initial release''
+that gets posted to <tt>debian-devel-changes</tt>.
<item>
It is helpful to the people who live off unstable (and form our first
-line of testers); we should encourage these people.
-
+line of testers). We should encourage these people.
<item>
The announcements give maintainers and other interested parties a
better feel of what is going on, and what is new, in the project.
-
-
- <item>
-We should not dismiss anybody who installs from unstable and helps us
-debug our packages as "fools, fools, you installed from unstable; you
-deserve what you get"--we derive a certain benefit from the alpha
-testers.
-
</list>
-
- <sect id="uploading">Uploading a package
-
- <sect1>Generating the changes file
+ <sect id="changelog-entries">
+ <heading>Adding an entry to <file>debian/changelog</file></heading>
<p>
-When a package is uploaded to the Debian FTP archive, it must be
-accompanied by a <tt/.changes/ file which gives directions for its
-handling. This is usually generated by <prgn/dpkg-genchanges/.
- <p>
-This file is a control file with the following fields:
-<list compact>
- <item><tt/Format/
- <item><tt/Date/
- <item><tt/Source/
- <item><tt/Binary/
- <item><tt/Architecture/
- <item><tt/Version/
- <item><tt/Distribution/
- <item><tt/Urgency/
- <item><tt/Maintainer/
- <item><tt/Description/
- <item><tt/Changes/
- <item><tt/Files/
- </list>
+Changes that you make to the package need to be recorded in the
+<file>debian/changelog</file>. These changes should provide a concise
+description of what was changed, why (if it's in doubt), and note if
+any bugs were closed. They also record when the package was
+completed. This file will be installed in
+<file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/changelog.Debian.gz</file>, or
+<file>/usr/share/doc/<var>package</var>/changelog.gz</file> for native
+packages.
<p>
-All of them are mandatory for a Debian upload. See the list of
-control fields in the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/packaging.html/"
-name="Debian Packaging Manual"> for the contents of these fields.
- <p>
-Notably, the <tt/Distribution/ field, which originates from the
-<tt>debian/changelog</tt> file, should indicate which distribution the
-package is intended for. There are four possible values for this
-field: <em/stable/, <em/unstable/, <em/frozen/, or <em/experimental/;
-these values can also be combined. For instance, if you have a
-crucial security fix release of a package, and the package has not
-diverged between the <em/stable/ and <em/unstable/ distributions, then
-you might put <tt/stable unstable/ in the <tt>debian/changelog</tt>'s
-distribution field. Or, if Debian has been frozen, and you want to
-get a bug-fix release into <em/frozen/, you would set the distribution
-to <tt/frozen unstable/. Note that setting the distribution to
-<tt/stable/ means that the pacakge will be placed into the
-<tt>proposed-updates</tt> directory of the Debian archive for further
-testing, before it is actually included in <em/stable/. Also note
-that it never makes sense to combine the <em/experimental/
-distribution with anything else.
+The <file>debian/changelog</file> file conform to a certain structure,
+with a number of different fields. One field of note, the
+<em>distribution</em>, is described in <ref id="upload-dist">. More
+information about the structure of this file can be found in
+the Debian Policy section titled "<file>debian/changelog</file>".
<p>
-The first time a version is uploaded which corresponds to a particular
-upstream version the original source tar file should be uploaded and
-included in the <tt/.changes/ file; subsequent times the very same tar
-file should be used to build the new diffs and <tt/.dsc/ files, and it
-need not then be uploaded.
- <p>
-By default <prgn/dpkg-genchanges/ and <prgn/dpkg-buildpackage/ will
-include the original source tar file if and only if the Debian
-revision part of the source version number is <tt/0/ or <tt/1/,
-indicating a new upstream version. This behaviour may be modified by
-using <tt/-sa/ to always include it or <tt/-sd/ to always leave it
-out.
- <p>
-If no original source is included in the upload then the original
-source tar-file used by <prgn/dpkg-source/ when constructing the
-<tt/.dsc/ file and diff to be uploaded <em/must/ be byte-for-byte
-identical with the one already in the archive. If there is some
-reason why this is not the case then the new version of the original
-source should be uploaded, possibly by using the <tt/-sa/ flag.
-
-
- <sect1 id="upload-checking">Checking the package prior to upload
- <p>
-Before you upload your package, you should do basic testing on it.
-Make sure you try the following activities (you'll need to have an
-older version of the Debian package around).
+Changelog entries can be used to automatically close Debian bugs when
+the package is installed into the archive. See <ref
+id="upload-bugfix">.
+ <p>
+It is conventional that the changelog entry notating of a package that
+contains a new upstream version of the software looks like this:
+<example>
+ * new upstream version
+</example>
+ <p>
+There are tools to help you create entries and finalize the
+<file>changelog</file> for release — see <ref id="devscripts">
+and <ref id="dpkg-dev-el">.
+
+
+
+ <sect id="upload-checking">Checking the package prior to upload
+ <p>
+Before you upload your package, you should do basic testing on it. At
+a minimum, you should try the following activities (you'll need to
+have an older version of the same Debian package around):
<list>
<item>
Install the package and make sure the software works, or upgrade the
package from an older version to your new version if a Debian package
for it already exists.
-
<item>
-Run <prgn/lintian/ over the package. You can run <prgn/lintian/ as
-follows: <tt>lintian -v <var>package-NN</var>.changes</tt>. This will
-check the source package as well as the binary package. If you don't
-understand the output that <prgn/lintian/ generates, try adding the
-<tt/-i/ switch, which will cause <prgn/lintian/ to output a very
-verbose description of the problem.
+Run <prgn>lintian</prgn> over the package. You can run
+<prgn>lintian</prgn> as follows: <tt>lintian -v
+<var>package-version</var>.changes</tt>. This will check the source
+package as well as the binary package. If you don't understand the
+output that <prgn>lintian</prgn> generates, try adding the <tt>-i</tt>
+switch, which will cause <prgn>lintian</prgn> to output a very verbose
+description of the problem.
<p>
-Normally, a package should <em/not/ be uploaded if it causes lintian
-to emit errors (they will start with <tt/E/).
+Normally, a package should <em>not</em> be uploaded if it causes lintian
+to emit errors (they will start with <tt>E</tt>).
<p>
-For more information on <prgn/lintian/, see <ref id="lintian">.
+For more information on <prgn>lintian</prgn>, see <ref id="lintian">.
<item>
-Downgrade the package to the previous version (if one exists) -- this
-tests the <tt/postrm/ and <tt/prerm/ scripts.
-
+Downgrade the package to the previous version (if one exists) — this
+tests the <tt>postrm</tt> and <tt>prerm</tt> scripts.
<item>
Remove the package, then reinstall it.
-
</list>
- <sect1 id="upload-master">Transferring the files to master
+ <sect>Generating the changes file
+ <p>
+When a package is uploaded to the Debian FTP archive, it must be
+accompanied by a <tt>.changes</tt> file, which gives directions to the
+archive maintainers for its handling. This is usually generated by
+<prgn>dpkg-genchanges</prgn> during the normal package build process.
+ <p>
+The changes file is a control file with the following fields:
+ <p>
+&control-file-fields;
+ <p>
+All of these fields are mandatory for a Debian upload. See the list
+of control fields in the <url id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian
+Policy Manual"> for the contents of these fields. You can close bugs
+automatically using the <tt>Description</tt> field, see <ref
+id="upload-bugfix">.
+
+
+ <sect1>The original source tarball
+ <p>
+The first time a version is uploaded which corresponds to a particular
+upstream version, the original source tar file should be uploaded and
+included in the <tt>.changes</tt> file. Subsequently, this very same
+tar file should be used to build the new diffs and <tt>.dsc</tt>
+files, and will not need to be re-uploaded.
+ <p>
+By default, <prgn>dpkg-genchanges</prgn> and
+<prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn> will include the original source tar
+file if and only if the Debian revision part of the source version
+number is 0 or 1, indicating a new upstream version. This behaviour
+may be modified by using <tt>-sa</tt> to always include it or
+<tt>-sd</tt> to always leave it out.
+ <p>
+If no original source is included in the upload, the original
+source tar-file used by <prgn>dpkg-source</prgn> when constructing the
+<tt>.dsc</tt> file and diff to be uploaded <em>must</em> be
+byte-for-byte identical with the one already in the archive. If there
+is some reason why this is not the case, the new version of the
+original source should be uploaded, possibly by using the <tt>-sa</tt>
+flag.
+
+
+ <sect1 id="upload-dist">Picking a distribution
+ <p>
+The <tt>Distribution</tt> field, which originates from the first line of
+the <file>debian/changelog</file> file, indicates which distribution the
+package is intended for.
+ <p>
+There are three possible values for this field: `stable', `unstable',
+and `experimental'. Normally, packages are uploaded into
+<em>unstable</em>.
+ <p>
+You should avoid combining `stable' with others because of potential
+problems with library dependencies (for your package and for the package
+built by the build daemons for other architecture).
+See <ref id="upload-stable"> for more information on when and how to
+upload to <em>stable</em>.
+ <p>
+It never makes sense to combine the <em>experimental</em> distribution
+with anything else.
+
+<!--
+ <sect2 id="upload-frozen">Uploading to <em>frozen</em>
+ <p>
+The Debian freeze is a crucial time for Debian. It is our chance to
+synchronize and stabilize our distribution as a whole. Therefore,
+care must be taken when uploading to <em>frozen</em>.
+ <p>
+It is tempting to always try to get the newest release of software
+into the release. However, it's much more important that the system
+as a whole is stable and works as expected.
+ <p>
+The watchword for uploading to <em>frozen</em> is <strong>no new
+code</strong>. This is a difficult thing to quantify, so here are
+some guidelines:
+ <p>
+<list>
+ <item>
+Fixes for bugs of severity <em>critical</em>, <em>grave</em>, or
+<em>serious</em> severity are always allowed for those packages that
+must exist in the final release
+ <item>
+<em>critical</em>, <em>grave</em>, and <em>serious</em> bug fixes are
+allowed for non-necessary packages but only if they don't add any new
+features
+ <item>
+important, normal and minor bug fixes are allowed (though discouraged)
+on all packages if and only if there are no new features
+ <item>
+wishlist fixes are not allowed (they are, after all, not really bugs)
+ <item>
+documentation bug fixes are allowed, since good documentation is
+important
+ </list>
+ <p>
+Experience has shown that there is statistically a 15% chance that
+every bug fix will introduce a new bug. The introduction and
+discovery of new bugs either delays release or weakens the final
+product. There is little correlation between the severity of the
+original bug fixed and the severity of the bug newly introduced by the
+fix.
+
+ -->
+
+
+ <sect2 id="upload-stable">Uploading to <em>stable</em>
+ <p>
+Uploading to <em>stable</em> means that the package will be placed into the
+<tt>proposed-updates</tt> directory of the Debian archive for further
+testing before it is actually included in <em>stable</em>.
+ <p>
+Extra care should be taken when uploading to <em>stable</em>. Basically, a
+package should only be uploaded to stable if one of the following happens:
+<list>
+ <item>a security problem (e.g. a Debian security advisory)
+ <item>a truely critical functionality problem
+ <item>the package becomes uninstallable
+ <item>a released architecture lacks the package
+</list>
+ <p>
+It is discouraged to change anything else in the package that isn't
+important, because even trivial fixes can cause bugs later on. Uploading
+new upstream versions to fix security problems is deprecated; applying the
+specific patch from the new upstream version to the old one ("backporting"
+the patch) is the right thing to do in most cases.
+ <p>
+Packages uploaded to <em>stable</em> need to be compiled on systems running
+<em>stable</em>, so that their dependencies are limited to the libraries
+(and other packages) available in <em>stable</em>; for example, a package
+uploaded to <em>stable</em> that depends on a library package that only
+exists in unstable will be rejected. Making changes to dependencies of other
+packages (by messing with <tt>Provides</tt> or shlibs files), possibly making
+those other packages uninstallable, is strongly discouraged.
+ <p>
+The Release Team (which can be reached at &email-debian-release;) will
+regularly evaluate the uploads in <em>proposed-updates</em> and decide if
+your package can be included in <em>stable</em>. Please be clear (and
+verbose, if necessary) in your changelog entries for uploads to
+<em>stable</em>, because otherwise the package won't be considered for
+inclusion.
+
+
+
+ <sect id="uploading">Uploading a package
+
+ <sect1 id="upload-ftp-master">Uploading to <tt>ftp-master</tt>
<p>
To upload a package, you need a personal account on
-<ftpsite>master.debian.org</ftpsite>. All maintainers should already
-have this account. You can use either <prgn/ssh/ or <prgn/ftp/ to
-transfer the files. In either case, the files need to be placed into
-<ftppath>/home/Debian/ftp/private/project/Incoming</ftppath>. (You
-cannot upload to Incoming on master using anonymous FTP -- you must use
-your username and password.)
+<ftpsite>ftp-master.debian.org</ftpsite>, which you should have as an
+official maintainer. If you use <prgn>scp</prgn> or <prgn>rsync</prgn>
+to transfer the files, place them into <tt>&us-upload-dir;</tt>;
+if you use anonymous FTP to upload, place them into
+<ftppath>/pub/UploadQueue/</ftppath>. Please note that you should transfer
+the changes file last. Otherwise, your upload may be rejected because the
+archive maintenance software will parse the changes file and see that not
+all files have been uploaded. If you don't want to bother with transfering
+the changes file last, you can simply copy your files to a temporary
+directory on <tt>ftp-master</tt> and then move them to
+<tt>&us-upload-dir;</tt>.
<p>
-<em/Note:/ Do not upload packages containing software that is
-export-controlled by the United States government to <tt/master/.
-This includes almost all cryptographic software, and even software
-that contains "hooks" to cryptographic software, such as electronic
-mail readers that support PGP encryption and authentication. Uploads
-of such software should go to <tt/non-us/ (see below). If you are
-not sure whether U.S. export controls apply to your package, post a
-message to <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ and ask.
+<em>Note:</em> Do not upload to <tt>ftp-master</tt> packages
+containing software that is patent-restricted by the United States
+government, nor any cryptographic packages which belong to
+<em>contrib</em> or <em>non-free</em>. If you can't upload it to
+<tt>ftp-master</tt>, then neither can you upload it to the overseas
+upload queues on <tt>chiark</tt> or <tt>erlangen</tt>. Uploads of
+such software should go to <tt>non-us</tt> (see <ref
+id="upload-non-us">). If you are not sure whether U.S. patent
+controls or cryptographic controls apply to your package, post a
+message to &email-debian-devel; and ask.
+ <p>
+You may also find the Debian packages <package>dupload</package> or
+<package>dput</package> useful
+when uploading packages. These handy program are distributed with
+defaults for uploading via <prgn>ftp</prgn> to <tt>ftp-master</tt>,
+<tt>chiark</tt>, and <tt>erlangen</tt>. They can also be configured to
+use <prgn>ssh</prgn> or <prgn>rsync</prgn>. See <manref name="dupload"
+section="1">, <manref name="dupload" section="5"> and <manref name="dput"
+section="1"> for more information.
+ <p>
+After uploading your package, you can check how the archive maintenance
+software will process it by running <prgn>dinstall</prgn> on your changes
+file: <example>dinstall -n foo.changes</example>
+
+ <sect1 id="upload-non-us">Uploading to <tt>non-US</tt> (pandora)
+ <p>
+As discussed above, export controlled software should not be uploaded
+to <tt>ftp-master</tt>. Instead, upload the package to
+<ftpsite>non-us.debian.org</ftpsite>, placing the files in
+<tt>&non-us-upload-dir;</tt> (both <ref id="dupload"> and <ref
+id="dput"> can be used also, with the right invokation). By default,
+you can use the same account/password that works on
+<tt>ftp-master</tt>. If you use anonymous FTP to upload, place the
+files into <ftppath>/pub/UploadQueue/</ftppath>.
+ <p>
+You can check your upload the same way it's done on <tt>ftp-master</tt>,
+with:
+<example>dinstall -n foo.changes</example>
+ <p>
+Note that U.S. residents or citizens are subject to restrictions on
+export of cryptographic software. As of this writing, U.S. citizens
+are allowed to export some cryptographic software, subject to
+notification rules by the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, this
+restriction has been waived for software which is already available
+outside the U.S. Therefore, any cryptographic software which belongs
+in the <em>main</em> section of the Debian archive and does not depend
+on any package outside of <em>main</em> (e.g., does not depend on
+anything in <em>non-US/main</em>) can be uploaded to <tt>ftp-master</tt>
+or its queues, described above.
+ <p>
+Debian policy does not prevent upload to non-US by U.S. residents or
+citizens, but care should be taken in doing so. It is recommended that
+developers take all necessary steps to ensure that they are not
+breaking current US law by doing an upload to non-US, <em>including
+consulting a lawyer</em>.
+ <p>
+For packages in <em>non-US/main</em>, <em>non-US/contrib</em>,
+developers should at least follow the <url id="&url-u.s.-export;"
+name="procedure outlined by the US Government">. Maintainers of
+<em>non-US/non-free</em> packages should further consult the <url
+id="&url-notification-of-export;" name="rules on notification of
+export"> of non-free software.
<p>
-You may also find the Debian package <package/dupload/ useful when
-uploading packages. This handy program is distributed with defaults
-for uploading via <prgn/ftp/ to <tt/master/, <tt/chiark/, and
-<tt/erlangen/. It can also be configured to use <prgn/ssh/. See
-<manref name="dupload" section="1"> and <manref name="dupload"
-section="5"> for more information.
+This section is for information only and does not constitute legal
+advice. Again, it is strongly recommended that U.S. citizens and
+residents consult a lawyer before doing uploads to non-US.
- <sect1>Uploads via Chiark
+ <sect1>Uploads via <tt>chiark</tt>
<p>
-If you have a slow network connection to <tt/master/, there are two
-alternatives: You can upload files to Incoming via a cron-driven
-upload queue in Europe on <tt/chiark/. For details connect to
-<ftpsite>ftp.chiark.greenend.org.uk</ftpsite> using anonymous FTP and
-read
-<ftppath>/pub/debian/private/project/README.how-to-upload</ftppath>.
+If you have a slow network connection to <tt>ftp-master</tt>, there are
+alternatives. One is to upload files to <tt>Incoming</tt> via a
+upload queue in Europe on <tt>chiark</tt>. For details connect to
+<url id="&url-chiark-readme;">.
<p>
-The program <tt/dupload/ supports uploads to chiark, please refer to
-the documentation that comes with the program for details.
+<em>Note:</em> Do not upload packages containing software that is
+export-controlled by the United States government to the queue on
+<tt>chiark</tt>. Since this upload queue goes to <tt>ftp-master</tt>, the
+prescription found in <ref id="upload-ftp-master"> applies here as well.
+ <p>
+The program <prgn>dupload</prgn> comes with support for uploading to
+<tt>chiark</tt>; please refer to the documentation that comes with the
+program for details.
- <sect1>Uploads via Erlangen
+ <sect1>Uploads via <tt>erlangen</tt>
<p>
-Another cron-driven upload queue is available in Germany: just upload
-the files via anonymous FTP to <url
-id="ftp://ftp.uni-erlangen.de/pub/Linux/debian/UploadQueue">.
+Another upload queue is available in Germany: just upload the files
+via anonymous FTP to <url id="&url-upload-erlangen;">.
<p>
The upload must be a complete Debian upload, as you would put it into
-master's <tt/Incoming/, i.e., a <tt/.changes/ files along with the
-other files mentioned in the <tt/.changes/. The queue daemon also
-checks that the <tt/.changes/ is correctly PGP-signed by a Debian
-developer, so that no bogus files can find their way to master via the
-queue. Please also make sure that the <tt/Maintainer:/ field in the
-<tt/.changes/ contains <em/your/ e-mail address. The address found
-there is used for all replies, just as on master.
+<tt>ftp-master</tt>'s <tt>Incoming</tt>, i.e., a <tt>.changes</tt> files
+along with the other files mentioned in the <tt>.changes</tt>. The
+queue daemon also checks that the <tt>.changes</tt> is correctly
+PGP-signed by a Debian developer, so that no bogus files can find
+their way to <tt>ftp-master</tt> via this queue. Please also make sure that
+the <tt>Maintainer</tt> field in the <tt>.changes</tt> contains
+<em>your</em> e-mail address. The address found there is used for all
+replies, just as on <tt>ftp-master</tt>.
<p>
There's no need to move your files into a second directory after the
-upload as on chiark. And, in any case, you should get some mail reply
-from the queue daemon what happened to your upload. Hopefully it
-should have been moved to master, but in case of errors you're
-notified, too.
+upload, as on <tt>chiark</tt>. And, in any case, you should get a
+mail reply from the queue daemon explaining what happened to your
+upload. Hopefully it should have been moved to <tt>ftp-master</tt>, but in
+case of errors you're notified, too.
+ <p>
+<em>Note:</em> Do not upload packages containing software that is
+export-controlled by the United States government to the queue on
+<tt>erlangen</tt>. Since this upload queue goes to <tt>ftp-master</tt>, the
+prescription found in <ref id="upload-ftp-master"> applies here as well.
<p>
-The program <prgn/dupload/ supports uploads to erlangen, please refer
-to the documentation that comes with the program for details.
+The program <prgn>dupload</prgn> comes with support for uploading to
+<tt>erlangen</tt>; please refer to the documentation that comes with
+the program for details.
- <sect1>Uploading to the non-us server
+ <sect1>Other Upload Queues
+ <p>
+Another upload queue is available which is based in the US, and is a
+good backup when there are problems reaching <tt>ftp-master</tt>. You can
+upload files, just as in <tt>erlangen</tt>, to <url
+id="&url-upload-samosa;">.
<p>
-To upload a package to the <em/non-us/ server you just have to
-transfer the files via anonymous ftp to <url
-id="ftp://non-us.debian.org/pub/debian-non-US/Incoming">. Note, that
-the <tt>.changes</tt> file must have a valid PGP signature from one of
-the keys of the developers key-ring.
+An upload queue is available in Japan: just upload the files via
+anonymous FTP to <url id="&url-upload-jp;">.
- <sect>Announcing package uploads
+
+ <sect id="upload-announce">Announcing package uploads
<p>
-When a package is uploaded an announcement should be posted to one of
-the debian-changes lists. The announcement should give the (source)
-package name and version number, and a very short summary of the
-changes, in the <em/Subject/ field, and should contain the PGP-signed
-<tt/.changes/ file. Some additional explanatory text may be added
-before the start of the <tt/.changes/ file.
+When a package is uploaded, an announcement should be posted to one of
+the ``debian-changes'' lists. This is now done automatically by the archive
+maintenance software when it runs (usually once a day). You just need to use
+a recent <package>dpkg-dev</package> (>= 1.4.1.2). The mail generated by
+the archive maintenance software will contain the PGP/GPG signed
+<tt>.changes</tt> files that you uploaded with your package.
+Previously, <prgn>dupload</prgn> used to send those announcements, so
+please make sure that you configured your <prgn>dupload</prgn> not to
+send those announcements (check its documentation and look for
+``dinstall_runs'').
<p>
-If a package is released with the <tt/Distribution:/ set to
-<tt/stable/, the announcement is sent to
-<email/debian-changes@lists.debian.org/.
- <p>
-If a package is released with <tt/Distribution:/ set to <tt/unstable/,
-<tt/experimental/, or <tt/frozen/ (when present), the announcement
-should be posted to <email/debian-devel-changes@lists.debian.org/
-instead.
+If a package is released with the <tt>Distribution:</tt> set to
+`stable', the announcement is sent to &email-debian-changes;. If a
+package is released with <tt>Distribution:</tt> set to `unstable',
+or `experimental', the announcement will be
+posted to &email-debian-devel-changes; instead.
<p>
-On occasion, it is necessary to upload a package to both the <tt/stable/
-and <tt/unstable/ distributions; this is done by putting both distributions
-in the <tt/Distribution:/ line. In such a case the upload announcement
-should go to both of the above mailing lists.
- <p>
-The <prgn/dupload/ program is clever enough to determine for itself
+The <prgn>dupload</prgn> program is clever enough to determine
where the announcement should go, and will automatically mail the
-announcement. See <ref id="dupload">.
+announcement to the right list. See <ref id="dupload">.
- <sect>Notification that a new package has been installed
+ <sect id="upload-notification">
+ <heading>Notification that a new package has been installed</heading>
<p>
The Debian archive maintainers are responsible for handling package
uploads. For the most part, uploads are automatically handled on a
-daily basis by an archive maintenance tool called <prgn/dinstall/.
-Specifically, updates to existing packages to the `unstable'
-distribution are handled automatically. In other cases, notably new
-packages, placing the uploaded package into the distribution is
-handled manually. When uploads are handled manually, the change to the
-archive may take up to a week to occur (please be patient).
- <p>
-In any case, you will receive notification indicating that the package
-has been uploaded via email. Please examine this notification
-carefully. Sometimes the "override" file which the archive
-maintainers use to indicate where packages go, is incorrect or
-out-of-sync with your control file. In these cases, you should either
-correct your control file or file a bug against <tt/ftp.debian.org/
-using the BTS.
-
- <sect id="nmu">Interim releases
- <p>
+daily basis by the archive maintenance tools, <prgn>katie</prgn>.
+Specifically, updates to existing packages to
+the `unstable' distribution are handled automatically. In other cases,
+notably new packages, placing the uploaded package into the
+distribution is handled manually. When uploads are handled manually,
+the change to the archive may take up to a month to occur. Please be
+patient.
+ <p>
+In any case, you will receive email notification indicating that the
+package has added to the archive, which also indicates which bugs will
+be closed by the upload. Please examine this notification carefully,
+checking if any bugs you meant to close didn't get triggered.
+ <p>
+The installation notification also includes information on what
+section the package was inserted into. If there is a disparity, you
+will receive a separate email notifying you of that. Read on below.
+
+ <sect1 id="override-file">The override file
+ <p>
+The <file>debian/control</file> file's <tt>Section</tt> and
+<tt>Priority</tt> fields do not actually specify where the file will
+be placed in the archive, nor its priority. In order to retain the
+overall integrity of the archive, it is the archive maintainers who
+have control over these fields. The values in the
+<file>debian/control</file> file are actually just hints.
+ <p>
+The archive maintainers keep track of the canonical sections and
+priorities for packages in the <em>override file</em>. If there is a
+disparity between the <em>override file</em> and the package's fields
+as indicated in <file>debian/control</file>, then you will receive an
+email noting the divergence when the package is installed into the
+archive. You can either correct your <file>debian/control</file> file
+for your next upload, or else you may wish to make a change in the
+<em>override file</em>.
+ <p>
+To alter the actual section that a package is put in, you need to
+first make sure that the <file>debian/control</file> in your package
+is accurate. Next, send an email &email-override; or submit a bug
+against <package>ftp.debian.org</package> requesting that the section
+or priority for your package be changed from the old section or
+priority to the new one. Be sure to explain your reasoning.
+ <p>
+For more information about <em>override files</em>, see <manref
+name="dpkg-scanpackages" section="8">, &file-bts-mailing;, and
+&file-bts-info;.
+
+
+
+ <chapt id="nmu">Non-Maintainer Uploads (NMUs)
+ <p>
Under certain circumstances it is necessary for someone other than the
-usual package maintainer to make a release of a package. For example,
-a porter for another architecture may have to make some small changes
-to the source package and does not wish to wait with uploading their
-release until the main maintainer has incorporated the patch, or a
-serious security problem or bug may have come to light requiring
-immediate attention.
- <p>
-When a security bug is detected a fixed package should be uploaded as
-soon as possible. In this case, the Debian Security Managers should
-get in contact with the package maintainer to make sure a fixed
-package is uploaded within a reasonable time (less than 48 hours). If
-the package maintainer cannot provide a fixed package fast enough or
-if he/she cannot be reached in time, the Security Manager may upload a
-fixed package.
- <p>
-When someone other than the usual maintainer releases a package they
-should add a new component to the <var/debian-revision/ component of
-the version number--that is, the portion after the (last) hyphen.
-This extra component will start at <tt/1/. This is to avoid
-`stealing' one of the usual maintainer's version numbers, possibly
-disrupting their work. If there is no <var/debian-revision/ component
-in the version number then one should be created, starting at <tt/1/.
- <p>
-If it is absolutely necessary for someone other than the usual
-maintainer to make a release based on a new upstream version then the
-person making the release should start with the <var/debian-revision/
-value <tt/0.1/. The usual maintainer of a package should start their
-<var/debian-revision/ numbering at <tt/1/.
- <p>
-Maintainers other than the usual package maintainer should make as few
-changes to the package as possible, and they should always send a
-unified context diff (<tt/diff -u/) detailing their changes to the bug
-tracking system properly flagged with the correct package so that the
-usual maintainer is kept aware of the situation.
- <p>
-If the non-maintainer upload (as known as an "NMU") fixes some
-existing bugs, the bug reports should not be closed. Technically,
-only the official package maintainer or the original bug submitter are
-allowed to close bugs. However, the person making the non-maintainer
-release should send a short message to the bug tracking system to all
-the fixed bugs explaining that they have been fixed. Using
-<email/control@bugs.debian.org/, the party doing the NMU should also
-set the severity of the bugs fixed in the NMU to "fixed". This
-ensures that everyone knows that the bug was fixed in an NMU; however
-the bug is left open until the changes in the NMU are incorporated
-"officially" into the package by the official package maintainer.
- <p>
-The normal maintainer should do at least one of the following:
- <list compact>
+official package maintainer to make a release of a package. This is
+called a non-maintainer upload, or NMU.
+ <p>
+Debian porters, who compile packages for different architectures, do
+NMUs as part of their normal porting activity (see <ref
+id="porting">). Another reason why NMUs are done is when a Debian
+developers needs to fix another developers' packages in order to
+address serious security problems or crippling bugs, especially during
+the freeze, or when the package maintainer is unable to release a fix
+in a timely fashion.
+ <p>
+This chapter contains information providing guidelines for when and
+how NMUs should be done. A fundamental distinction is made between
+source and binary-only NMUs, which is explained in the next section.
+
+ <sect id="nmu-terms">Terminology
+ <p>
+There are two new terms used throughout this section: ``binary-only NMU''
+and ``source NMU''. These terms are used with specific technical
+meaning throughout this document. Both binary-only and source NMUs are
+similar, since they involve an upload of a package by a developer who
+is not the official maintainer of that package. That is why it's a
+<em>non-maintainer</em> upload.
+ <p>
+A source NMU is an upload of a package by a developer who is not the
+official maintainer, for the purposes of fixing a bug in the package.
+Source NMUs always involves changes to the source (even if it is just
+a change to <file>debian/changelog</file>). This can be either a
+change to the upstream source, or a change to the Debian bits of the
+source. Note, however, that source NMUs may also include
+architecture-dependent packages, as well as an updated Debian diff
+(or, more rarely, new upstream source as well).
+ <p>
+A binary-only NMU is a recompilation and upload of a binary package
+for a given architecture. As such, it is usually part of a porting
+effort. A binary-only NMU is a non-maintainer uploaded binary version
+of a package, with no source changes required. There are many cases
+where porters must fix problems in the source in order to get them to
+compile for their target architecture; that would be considered a
+source NMU rather than a binary-only NMU. As you can see, we don't
+distinguish in terminology between porter NMUs and non-porter NMUs.
+ <p>
+Both classes of NMUs, source and binary-only, can be lumped by the
+term ``NMU''. However, this often leads to confusion, since most
+people think ``source NMU'' when they think ``NMU''. So it's best to
+be careful. In this chapter, if we use the unqualified term ``NMU'',
+we refer to any type of non-maintainer upload NMUs, whether source and
+binary, or binary-only.
+
+
+ <sect id="nmu-who">Who can do an NMU
+ <p>
+Only official, registered Debian maintainers can do binary or source
+NMUs. An official maintainer is someone who has their key in the
+Debian key ring. Non-developers, however, are encouraged to download
+the source package and start hacking on it to fix problems; however,
+rather than doing an NMU, they should just submit worthwhile patches
+to the Bug Tracking System. Maintainers almost always appreciate
+quality patches and bug reports.
+
+
+ <sect id="nmu-when">When to do a source NMU
+ <p>
+Guidelines for when to do a source NMU depend on the target
+distribution, i.e., stable, unstable, or experimental. Porters have
+slightly different rules than non-porters, due to their unique
+circumstances (see <ref id="source-nmu-when-porter">).
+ <p>
+When a security bug is detected, a fixed package should be uploaded
+as soon as possible. In this case, the Debian security officers get in
+contact with the package maintainer to make sure a fixed package is
+uploaded within a reasonable time (less than 48 hours). If the package
+maintainer cannot provide a fixed package fast enough or if he/she
+cannot be reached in time, a security officer may upload a fixed
+package (i.e., do a source NMU).
+ <p>
+During the release cycle (see <ref id="sec-dists">), NMUs which fix
+serious or higher severity bugs are encouraged and accepted. Even
+during this window, however, you should endeavor to reach the current
+maintainer of the package; they might be just about to upload a fix
+for the problem. As with any source NMU, the guidelines found in <ref
+id="nmu-guidelines"> need to be followed.
+ <p>
+Bug fixes to unstable by non-maintainers are also acceptable, but only
+as a last resort or with permission. Try the following steps first,
+and if they don't work, it is probably OK to do an NMU:
+ <p>
+<list>
+ <item>
+Make sure that the package bug is in the Debian Bug Tracking System
+(BTS). If not, submit a bug.
+ <item>
+Email the maintainer, and offer to help fix the package bug. Give it a
+few days.
+ <item>
+Go ahead and fix the bug, submitting a patch to the right bug in the
+BTS. Build the package and test it as discussed in <ref
+id="upload-checking">. Use it locally.
+ <item>
+Wait a couple of weeks for a response.
<item>
-apply the diff,
+Email the maintainer, asking if it is OK to do an NMU.
<item>
-read the diff and decide on each part of it themselves, or
+Double check that your patch doesn't have any unexpected side effects.
+Make sure your patch is as small and as non-disruptive as it can be.
<item>
-if the maintainer decides not to apply the patch but to release a new
-version, read the description of the changes to the next upstream
-version and ensure that they fix each problem that was fixed in the
-non-maintainer release.
+Wait another week for a response.
+ <item>
+Go ahead and do the source NMU, as described in <ref
+id="nmu-guidelines">.
</list>
- <p>
-In addition, the normal maintainer should <em/always/ include an entry
-in the changelog file documenting the non-maintainer upload.
- <sect>Maintainer changes
+
+ <sect id="nmu-guidelines">How to do a source NMU
+ <p>
+The following applies to porters insofar as they are playing the dual
+role of being both package bug-fixers and package porters. If a
+porter has to change the Debian source archive, automatically their
+upload is a source NMU and is subject to its rules. If a porter is
+simply uploading a recompiled binary package, the rules are different;
+see <ref id="porter-guidelines">.
<p>
-Periodically, a listing of packages in need of new maintainers will be
-sent to <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org</email> list. This list
-is also available at in the Work-Needing and Prospective Packages
-document (WNPP), <url
-id="ftp://ftp.debian.org/debian/doc/package-developer/prospective-packages.html">
-and at <url id="http://www.debian.org/doc/prospective-packages.html">.
-If you wish to take over maintenance of any of the packages listed in
-the WNPP, or if you can no longer maintain a packages you have, or you
-simply want to know if any one is working on a new package, send a
-message to <email/wnpp@debian.org/.
+First and foremost, it is critical that NMU patches to source should
+be as non-disruptive as possible. Do not do housekeeping tasks, do
+not change the name of modules or files, do not move directories; in
+general, do not fix things which are not broken. Keep the patch as
+small as possible. If things bother you aesthetically, talk to the
+Debian maintainer, talk to the upstream maintainer, or submit a bug.
+However, aesthetic changes must <em>not</em> be made in a non-maintainer
+upload.
+
+ <sect1 id="nmu-version">Source NMU version numbering
+ <p>
+Whenever you have made a change to a package, no matter how trivial,
+the version number needs to change. This enables our packing system
+to function.
+ <p>
+If you are doing a non-maintainer upload (NMU), you should add a new
+minor version number to the <var>debian-revision</var> part of the
+version number (the portion after the last hyphen). This extra minor
+number will start at `1'. For example, consider the package `foo',
+which is at version 1.1-3. In the archive, the source package control
+file would be <file>foo_1.1-3.dsc</file>. The upstream version is
+`1.1' and the Debian revision is `3'. The next NMU would add a new
+minor number `.1' to the Debian revision; the new source control file
+would be <file>foo_1.1-3.1.dsc</file>.
+ <p>
+The Debian revision minor number is needed to avoid stealing one of
+the package maintainer's version numbers, which might disrupt their
+work. It also has the benefit of making it visually clear that a
+package in the archive was not made by the official maintainer.
+ <p>
+If there is no <var>debian-revision</var> component in the version
+number then one should be created, starting at `0.1'. If it is
+absolutely necessary for someone other than the usual maintainer to
+make a release based on a new upstream version then the person making
+the release should start with the <var>debian-revision</var> value
+`0.1'. The usual maintainer of a package should start their
+<var>debian-revision</var> numbering at `1'. Note that if you do
+this, you'll have to invoke <prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn> with the
+<tt>-sa</tt> switch to force the build system to pick up the new
+source package (normally it only looks for Debian revisions of '0' or
+'1' — it's not yet clever enough to know about `0.1').
+ <p>
+Remember, porters who are simply recompiling a package for a different
+architecture do not need to renumber. Porters should use new version
+numbers if and only if they actually have to modify the source package
+in some way, i.e., if they are doing a source NMU and not a binary
+NMU.
+
+
+ <sect1 id="nmu-changelog">
+ <heading>Source NMUs must have a new changelog entry</heading>
+ <p>
+A non-maintainer doing a source NMU must create a changelog entry,
+describing which bugs are fixed by the NMU, and generally why the NMU
+was required and what it fixed. The changelog entry will have the
+non-maintainer's email address in the log entry and the NMU version
+number in it.</p>
+ <p>
+By convention, source NMU changelog entries start with the line
+<example>
+ * Non-maintainer upload
+</example></p></sect1>
+
+
+ <sect1 id="nmu-patch">Source NMUs and the Bug Tracking System
+ <p>
+Maintainers other than the official package maintainer should make as
+few changes to the package as possible, and they should always send a
+patch as a unified context diff (<tt>diff -u</tt>) detailing their
+changes to the Bug Tracking System.
+ <p>
+What if you are simply recompiling the package? In this case, the
+process is different for porters than it is for non-porters, as
+mentioned above. If you are not a porter and are doing an NMU that
+simply requires a recompile (i.e., a new shared library is available
+to be linked against, a bug was fixed in
+<package>debhelper</package>), there must still be a changelog entry;
+therefore, there will be a patch. If you are a porter, you are
+probably just doing a binary-only NMU. (Note: this leaves out in the cold
+porters who have to do recompiles — chalk it up as a weakness in how
+we maintain our archive.)
+ <p>
+If the source NMU (non-maintainer upload) fixes some existing bugs,
+these bugs should be tagged <em>fixed</em> in the Bug Tracking
+System rather than closed. By convention, only the official package
+maintainer or the original bug submitter are allowed to close bugs.
+Fortunately, Debian's archive system recognizes NMUs and thus marks
+the bugs fixed in the NMU appropriately if the person doing the NMU
+has listed all bugs in the changelog with the <tt>Closes:
+bug#<var>nnnnn</var></tt> syntax (see <ref id="upload-bugfix"> for
+more information describing how to close bugs via the changelog).
+Tagging the bugs <em>fixed</em> ensures that everyone knows that the
+bug was fixed in an NMU; however the bug is left open until the
+changes in the NMU are incorporated officially into the package by
+the official package maintainer.
+ <p>
+Also, after doing an NMU, you have to open a new bug and include a
+patch showing all the changes you have made. The normal maintainer
+will either apply the patch or employ an alternate method of fixing
+the problem. Sometimes bugs are fixed independently upstream, which
+is another good reason to back out an NMU's patch. If the maintainer
+decides not to apply the NMU's patch but to release a new version,
+the maintainer needs to ensure that the new upstream version really
+fixes each problem that was fixed in the non-maintainer release.
+ <p>
+In addition, the normal maintainer should <em>always</em> retain the
+entry in the changelog file documenting the non-maintainer upload.
+
+
+ <sect1 id="nmu-build">Building source NMUs
+ <p>
+Source NMU packages are built normally. Pick a distribution using the
+same rules as found in <ref id="upload-dist">. Just as described in
+<ref id="uploading">, a normal changes file, etc., will be built. In
+fact, all the prescriptions from <ref id="upload"> apply, including
+the need to announce the NMU to the proper lists.
+ <p>
+Make sure you do <em>not</em> change the value of the maintainer in
+the <file>debian/control</file> file. Your name as given in the NMU entry of
+the <file>debian/changelog</file> file will be used for signing the
+changes file.
+
+
+
+
+ <chapt id="porting">Porting and Being Ported
+ <p>
+Debian supports an ever-increasing number of architectures. Even if
+you are not a porter, and you don't use any architecture but one, it
+is part of your duty as a maintainer to be aware of issues of
+portability. Therefore, even if you are not a porter, you should read
+most of this chapter.
+ <p>
+Porting is the act of building Debian packages for architectures that
+is different from the original architecture of the package
+maintainer's binary package. It is a unique and essential activity.
+In fact, porters do most of the actual compiling of Debian packages.
+For instance, for a single <em>i386</em> binary package, there must be
+a recompile for each architecture, which is amounts to
+&number-of-arches; more builds.
+
+
+ <sect id="kind-to-porters">Being Kind to Porters
+ <p>
+Porters have a difficult and unique task, since they are required to
+deal with a large volume of packages. Ideally, every source package
+should build right out of the box. Unfortunately, this is often not
+the case. This section contains a checklist of ``gotchas'' often
+committed by Debian maintainers — common problems which often stymie
+porters, and make their jobs unnecessarily difficult.
+ <p>
+The first and most important watchword is to respond quickly to bug or
+issues raised by porters. Please treat porters with courtesy, as if
+they were in fact co-maintainers of your package (which in a way, they
+are). Please be tolerant of succinct or even unclear bug reports,
+doing your best to hunt down whatever the problem is.
+ <p>
+By far, most of the problems encountered by porters are caused by
+<em>packaging bugs</em> in the source packages. Here is a checklist
+of things you should check or be aware of.
+
+<enumlist>
+ <item>
+Make sure that your <tt>Build-Depends</tt> and
+<tt>Build-Depends-Indep</tt> settings in <file>debian/control</file>
+are set properly. The best way to validate this is to use the
+<package>debootstrap</package> package to create an unstable chroot
+environment. Within that chrooted environment, install the
+<package>build-essential</package> package and any package
+dependancies mention in <tt>Build-Depends</tt> and/or
+<tt>Build-Depends-Indep</tt>. Finally, try building your package
+within that chrooted environment.
+ <p>
+See the <url id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian Policy
+Manual"> for instructions on setting build dependencies.
+ <item>
+Don't set architecture to a value other than ``all'' or ``any'' unless
+you really mean it. In too many cases, maintainers don't follow the
+instructions in the <url id="&url-debian-policy;" name="Debian Policy
+Manual">. Setting your architecture to ``i386'' is usually incorrect.
+ <item>
+Make sure your source package is correct. Do <tt>dpkg-source -x
+<var>package</var>.dsc</tt> to make sure your source package unpacks
+properly. Then, in there, try building your package from scratch with
+<tt>dpkg-buildpackage</tt>.
+ <item>
+Make sure you don't ship your source package with the
+<file>debian/files</file> or <file>debian/substvars</file> files.
+They should be removed by the `clean' target of
+<file>debian/rules</file>.
+ <item>
+Make sure you don't rely on locally installed or hacked configurations
+or programs. For instance, you should never be calling programs in
+<file>/usr/local/bin</file> or the like. Try not to rely on programs
+be setup in a special way. Try building your package on another
+machine, even if it's the same architecture.
+ <item>
+Don't depend on the package you're building already being installed (a
+sub-case of the above issue).
+ <item>
+Don't rely on the compiler being a certain version, if possible. If
+not, then make sure your build dependencies reflect the restrictions,
+although you are probably asking for trouble, since different
+architectures sometimes standardize on different compilers.
+ <item>
+Make sure your debian/rules contains separate ``binary-arch'' and
+``binary-indep'' targets, as the Debian Packaging Manual requires.
+Make sure that both targets work independently, that is, that you can
+call the target without having called the other before. To test this,
+try to run <tt>dpkg-buildpackage -b</tt>.
+ </enumlist>
+
+
+ <sect id="porter-guidelines">Guidelines for Porter Uploads
+ <p>
+If the package builds out of the box for the architecture to be ported
+to, you are in luck and your job is easy. This section applies to
+that case; it describes how to build and upload your binary-only NMU so
+that it is properly installed into the archive. If you do have to
+patch the package in order to get it to compile for the other
+architecture, you are actually doing a source NMU, so consult <ref
+id="nmu-guidelines"> instead.
+ <p>
+In a binary-only NMU, no real changes are being made to the source. You do
+not need to touch any of the files in the source package. This
+includes <file>debian/changelog</file>.
+ <p>
+The way to invoke <prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn> is as
+<tt>dpkg-buildpackage -B -e<var>porter-email</var></tt>. Of course,
+set <var>porter-email</var> to your email address. This will do a
+binary-only build of only the architecture-dependant portions of the
+package, using the `binary-arch' target in <file>debian/rules</file>.
+
+ <sect1 id="recompile-nmu-versioning">
+ <heading>Recompilation Binary-Only NMU Versioning</heading>
+ <p>
+Sometimes you need to recompile a package against other packages which
+have been updated, such as libraries. You do have to bump the version
+number in this case, so that the version comparison system can
+function properly. Even so, these are considered binary-only NMUs
+— there is no need in this case to trigger all other
+architectures to consider themselves out of date or requiring
+recompilation.
+ <p>
+Such recompilations require special ``magic'' version numbering, so that
+the archive maintenance tools recognize that, even though there is a
+new Debian version, there is no corresponding source update. If you
+get this wrong, the archive maintainers will reject your upload (due
+to lack of corresponding source code).
+ <p>
+The ``magic'' for a recompilation-only NMU is triggered by using the
+third-level number on the Debian part of the version. For instance,
+if the latest version you are recompiling against was version
+``2.9-3'', your NMU should carry a version of ``2.9-3.0.1''. If the
+latest version was ``3.4-2.1'', your NMU should have a version number
+of ``3.4-2.1.1''.
+
+
+ <sect1 id="source-nmu-when-porter">
+ <heading>When to do a source NMU if you are a porter</heading>
+ <p>
+Porters doing a source NMU generally follow the guidelines found in
+<ref id="nmu">, just like non-porters. However, it is expected that
+the wait cycle for a porter's source NMU is smaller than for a
+non-porter, since porters have to cope with a large quantity of
+packages.
+Again, the situation varies depending on the distribution they are
+uploading to.
+
+<!--
+FIXME: commented out until I can work out how to upload to testing directly
+
+ Crucial fixes (i.e., changes need to get a source
+package to compile for a released-targeted architecture) can be
+uploaded with <em>no</em> waiting period for the `frozen' distribution.
+ -->
+ <p>
+However, if you are a porter doing an NMU for `unstable', the above
+guidelines for porting should be followed, with two variations.
+Firstly, the acceptable waiting period &mdash the time between when the
+bug is submitted to the BTS and when it is OK to do an NMU — is seven
+days for porters working on the unstable distribution. This period
+can be shortened if the problem is critical and imposes hardship on
+the porting effort, at the discretion of the porter group. (Remember,
+none of this is Policy, just mutually agreed upon guidelines.)
+ <p>
+Secondly, porters doing source NMUs should make sure that the bug they
+submit to the BTS should be of severity `serious' or greater. This
+ensures that a single source package can be used to compile every
+supported Debian architecture by release time. It is very important
+that we have one version of the binary and source package for all
+architecture in order to comply with many licenses.
+ <p>
+Porters should try to avoid patches which simply kludge around bugs in
+the current version of the compile environment, kernel, or libc.
+Sometimes such kludges can't be helped. If you have to kludge around
+compilers bugs and the like, make sure you <tt>#ifdef</tt> your work
+properly; also, document your kludge so that people know to remove it
+once the external problems have been fixed.
+ <p>
+Porters may also have an unofficial location where they can put the
+results of their work during the waiting period. This helps others
+running the port have the benefit of the porter's work, even during
+the waiting period. Of course, such locations have no official
+blessing or status, so buyer, beware.
+
+
+ <sect>Tools for Porters
<p>
-If you take over an old package, you probably want to be listed as the
-package's official maintainer in the bug system. This will happen
-automatically once you upload a new version with an updated
-<tt/Maintainer:/ field. If you do not expect to upload a new version
-for a while, send an email to <email/override-change@debian.org/ so
-that bug reports will go to you.
+There are several tools available for the porting effort. This section
+contains a brief introduction to these tools; see the package
+documentation or references for full information.
- <chapt id="archive-manip">Moving, Removing, Renaming, and Orphaning Packages
+ <sect1 id="quinn-diff">
+ <heading><package>quinn-diff</package>
+ <p>
+<package>quinn-diff</package> is used to locate the differences from
+one architecture to another. For instance, it could tell you which
+packages need to be ported for architecture <var>Y</var>, based on
+architecture <var>X</var>.
+
+
+ <sect1 id="buildd">
+ <heading><package>buildd</package>
+ <p>
+The <package>buildd</package> system is used as a distributed,
+client-server build distribution system. It is usually used in
+conjunction with <em>auto-builders</em>, which are ``slave'' hosts
+which simply check out and attempt to auto-build packages which need
+to be ported. There is also an email interface to the system, which
+allows porters to ``check out'' a source package (usually one which
+cannot yet be autobuilt) and work on it.
+ <p>
+<package>buildd</package> is not yet available as a package; however,
+most porting efforts are either using it currently or planning to use
+it in the near future. It collects a number of as yet unpackaged
+components which are currently very useful and in use continually,
+such as <prgn>andrea</prgn>, <prgn>sbuild</prgn> and
+<prgn>wanna-build</prgn>.
+ <p>
+Some of the data produced by <package>buildd</package> which is
+generally useful to porters is available on the web at <url
+id="&url-buildd;">. This data includes nightly updated information
+from <prgn>andrea</prgn> (source dependencies) and
+<package>quinn-diff</package> (packages needing recompilation).
+ <p>
+We are very excited about this system, since it potentially has so
+many uses. Independent development groups can use the system for
+different sub-flavors of Debian, which may or may not really be of
+general interest (for instance, a flavor of Debian built with gcc
+bounds checking). It will also enable Debian to recompile entire
+distributions quickly.
+
+
+ <sect1 id="dpkg-cross">
+ <heading><package>dpkg-cross</package>
+ <p>
+<package>dpkg-cross</package> is a tool for installing libraries and
+headers for cross-compiling in a way similar to
+<package>dpkg</package>. Furthermore, the functionality of
+<prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn> and <prgn>dpkg-shlibdeps</prgn> is
+enhanced to support cross-compiling.
+
+
+
+
+ <chapt id="archive-manip">
+ <heading>Moving, Removing, Renaming, Adopting, and Orphaning
+ Packages</heading>
<p>
Some archive manipulation operation are not automated in the Debian
-upload process. This chapter gives guidelines in what to do in these
+upload process. These procedures should be manually followed by
+maintainers. This chapter gives guidelines in what to do in these
cases.
<sect>Moving packages
<p>
-Sometimes a package will change either its section or its subsection.
-For instance, a package from the `non-free' section might be GPL'd in
-a later version; in this case you should consider moving it to `main'
-or `contrib' (see the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/" name="Debian Policy
-Manual"> for guidelines).
- <p>
-In this case, it is sufficient to edit the package control information
-normally and re-upload the package (see the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/packaging.html/"
-name="Debian Packaging Manual"> for
-details). Carefully examine the installation log sent to you when the
-package is installed into the archive. If for some reason the old
-location of the package remains, file a bug against
-<tt/ftp.debian.org/ asking that the old location be removed. Give
-details on what you did, since it might be a <prgn/dinstall/ bug.
-
-
- <sect>Removing packages
+Sometimes a package will change its section. For instance, a
+package from the `non-free' section might be GPL'd in a later version,
+in which case, the package should be moved to `main' or
+`contrib'.<footnote> See the <url id="&url-debian-policy;"
+name="Debian Policy Manual"> for guidelines on what section a package
+belongs in.
+ </footnote>
+ <p>
+If you need to change the section for one of your packages, change the
+package control information to place the package in the desired
+section, and re-upload the package (see the <url id="&url-debian-policy;"
+name="Debian Policy Manual"> for details). Carefully examine the
+installation log sent to you when the package is installed into the
+archive. If for some reason the old location of the package remains,
+file a bug against <tt>ftp.debian.org</tt> asking that the old
+location be removed. Give details on what you did, since it might be
+a bug in the archive maintenance software.
+ <p>
+If, on the other hand, you need to change the <em>subsection</em> of
+one of your packages (e.g., ``devel'', ``admin''), the procedure is
+slightly different. Correct the subsection as found in the control
+file of the package, and reupload that. Also, you'll need to get the
+override file updated, as described in <ref id="override-file">.
+
+
+ <sect id="removing-pkgs">Removing packages
<p>
If for some reason you want to completely remove a package (say, if it
is an old compatibility library which is not longer required), you
-need to file a bug against <tt/ftp.debian.org/ asking that the
+need to file a bug against <tt>ftp.debian.org</tt> asking that the
package be removed. Make sure you indicate which distribution the
package should be removed from.
<p>
If in doubt concerning whether a package is disposable, email
-<email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ asking for opinions.
+&email-debian-devel; asking for opinions. Also of interest is the
+<prgn>apt-cache</prgn> program from the <package>apt</package>
+package. When invoked as <tt>apt-cache showpkg
+<var>package</var></tt>, the program will show details for
+<var>package</var>, including reverse depends.
+ <sect1>Removing packages from <tt>Incoming</tt>
+ <p>
+In the past, it was possible to remove packages from <tt>incoming</tt>.
+With the introduction of the New Incoming system this is no longer
+possible. Instead, you have to upload a new revision of your package with
+a higher version as the package you want to replace. Both versions will be
+installed in the archive but only the higher version will actually be
+available in <em>unstable</em> since the previous version will immediately
+be replaced by the higher. However, if you do proper testing of your
+packages, the need to replace a package should not occur too often anyway.
<sect>Replacing or renaming packages
<p>
Sometimes you made a mistake naming the package and you need to rename
it. In this case, you need to follow a two-step process. First, set
-your <tt>debian/control</tt> file to replace and conflict with the
-obsolete name of the package (see the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/packaging.html/"
-name="Debian Packaging Manual"> for details). Once you've uploaded
+your <file>debian/control</file> file to replace and conflict with the
+obsolete name of the package (see the <url id="&url-debian-policy;"
+name="Debian Policy Manual"> for details). Once you've uploaded
that package, and the package has moved into the archive, file a bug
-against <tt/ftp.debian.org/ asking to remove the package with the
+against <tt>ftp.debian.org</tt> asking to remove the package with the
obsolete name.
-
- <sect>Orphaning a package
+ <sect id="orphaning">Orphaning a package
+ <p>
+If you can no longer maintain a package, you need to inform the others
+about that, and see that the package is marked as orphaned.
+you should set the package maintainer to <tt>Debian QA Group
+&orphan-address;</tt> and submit a bug report
+against the pseudo package <package>wnpp</package>. The bug report should be
+titled <tt>O: <var>package</var> -- <var>short description</var></tt>
+indicating that the package is now orphaned. The severity of the bug
+should be set to <em>normal</em>. If you feel it's necessary, send a copy
+to &email-debian-devel; by putting the address in the X-Debbugs-CC: header
+of the message (no, don't use CC:, because that way the message's subject
+won't indicate the bug number).
+ <p>
+If the package is especially crucial to Debian, you should instead submit
+a bug against <tt>wnpp</tt> and title it <tt>RFA: <var>package</var> --
+<var>short description</var></tt> and set its severity to
+<em>important</em>. Definitely copy the message to debian-devel in this
+case, as described above.
+ <p>
+Read instructions on the <url id="&url-wnpp;" name="WNPP web pages">
+for more information.
+
+ <sect id="adopting">Adopting a package
+ <p>
+A list of packages in need of a new maintainer is available at in the
+<url name="Work-Needing and Prospective Packages list (WNPP)"
+id="&url-wnpp;">. If you wish to take over maintenance of any of the
+packages listed in the WNPP, please take a look at the aforementioned
+page for information and procedures.
+ <p>
+It is not OK to simply take over a package that you feel is neglected
+— that would be package hijacking. You can, of course, contact the
+current maintainer and ask them if you may take over the package.
+However, without their assent, you may not take over the package.
+Even if they ignore you, that is still not grounds to take over a
+package. If you really feel that a maintainer has gone AWOL (absent
+without leave), post a query to &email-debian-private;.
<p>
-If you can no longer maintain a package, then you should set the
-package maintainer to <tt>Debian QA
-<debian-qa@lists.debian.org></tt> and email
-<email/wnpp@debian.org/ indicating that the package is now orphaned.
-If the package is especially crucial to Debian, you should instead
-email <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ asking for a new
-maintainer.
+If you take over an old package, you probably want to be listed as the
+package's official maintainer in the bug system. This will happen
+automatically once you upload a new version with an updated
+<tt>Maintainer:</tt> field, although it can take a few hours after the
+upload is done. If you do not expect to upload a new version for a while,
+send an email to &email-override; so that bug reports will go to you
+right away.
- <chapt id="bug-handling">Handling Bug Reports
+
+ <chapt id="bug-handling">Handling Bugs
<sect>Monitoring bugs
<p>
If you want to be a good maintainer, you should periodically check the
-<url id="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/" name="Debian bug tracking system
-(BTS)"> for your packages. The BTS contains all the open bugs against
-your packages.
+<url id="&url-bts;" name="Debian bug tracking system (BTS)"> for your
+packages. The BTS contains all the open bugs against your packages.
<p>
Maintainers interact with the BTS via email addresses at
-<tt/bugs.debian.org/. Documentation on available commands can be
-found at <url id="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/">, or, if you have
-installed the <package/debian-doc/ package, you can look at the local
-files <tt>/usr/doc/debian/bug-*</tt>.
+<tt>bugs.debian.org</tt>. Documentation on available commands can be
+found at <url id="&url-bts;">, or, if you have installed the
+<package>doc-debian</package> package, you can look at the local files
+&file-bts-docs;.
+ <p>
+Some find it useful to get periodic reports on open bugs. You can add
+a cron job such as the following if you want to get a weekly email
+outlining all the open bugs against your packages:
+<example>
+# ask for weekly reports of bugs in my packages
+&cron-bug-report;
+</example>
+Replace <var>address</var> with you official Debian
+maintainer address.
+
+ <sect id="submit-bug">Submitting Bugs
<p>
Often as a package maintainer, you find bugs in other packages or else
have bugs reported to your packages which need to be reassigned. The
-BTS instructions can tell you how to do this. Make sure the bug is
-not already filed against a package. Try to do a good job reporting a
-bug and redirecting it to the proper location. For extra credit, you
-can go through other packages, merging bugs which are reported more
-than once, or setting bug severities to "fixed" when they have already
-been fixed. Note that when you are neither the bug submitter nor the
-package maintainer, you are not empowered to actually close the bug
-(unless you secure permission from the maintainer).
+<url id="&url-bts-control;" name="BTS instructions"> can tell you how
+to do this.
+ <p>
+We encourage you to file bugs when there are problems. Try to submit
+the bug from a normal user account at which you are likely to receive
+mail. Do not submit bugs as root.
+ <p>
+Make sure the bug is not already filed against a package. Try to do a
+good job reporting a bug and redirecting it to the proper location.
+For extra credit, you can go through other packages, merging bugs
+which are reported more than once, or setting bug severities to
+`fixed' when they have already been fixed. Note that when you are
+neither the bug submitter nor the package maintainer, you should
+not actually close the bug (unless you secure permission from the
+maintainer).
+ <sect>Responding to Bugs
+ <p>
+Make sure that any discussions you have about bugs are sent both to
+the original submitter of the bug, and the bug itself (e.g.,
+<email>123@bugs.debian.org</email>).
+ <p>
+You should <em>never</em> close bugs via the bug server `close'
+command sent to &email-bts-control;. If you do so, the original
+submitter will not receive any feedback on why the bug was closed.
- <sect>When bugs are closed by new uploads
+ <sect id="upload-bugfix">When bugs are closed by new uploads
<p>
If you fix a bug in your packages, it is your responsibility as the
package maintainer to close the bug when it has been fixed. However,
notification that your updated package has been installed into the
archive, you can and should close the bug in the BTS.
<p>
-Again, see the BTS documentation for details on how to do this.
-Often, it's sufficient to mail the <tt/.changes file to
-<email/<var/XXX/-done@bugs.debian.org/, where <var/XXX/ is your bug
-number.
+If you are using a new version of <package>dpkg-dev</package> and you do
+your changelog entry properly, the archive maintenance software will close
+the bugs automatically. All you have to do is follow a certain syntax in
+your <file>debian/changelog</file> file:
+<example>
+acme-cannon (3.1415) unstable; urgency=low
+
+ * Frobbed with options (closes: Bug#98339)
+ * Added safety to prevent operator dismemberment, closes: bug#98765,
+ bug#98713, #98714.
+ * Added manpage. Closes: #98725.
+</example>
+
+Technically speaking, the following Perl regular expression is what is
+used:
+<example>
+ /closes:\s*(?:bug)?\#\s*\d+(?:,\s*(?:bug)?\#\s*\d+)*/ig
+</example>
+
+The author prefers the <tt>(closes: Bug#<var>XXX</var>)</tt> syntax,
+since it stands out from the rest of the changelog entries.
+ <p>
+If you want to close bugs the old fashioned, manual way, it is usually
+sufficient to mail the <tt>.changes</tt> file to
+<email>XXX-done@bugs.debian.org</email>, where <var>XXX</var> is your
+bug number.
+
<sect id="lintian-reports">Lintian reports
<p>
-You should periodically get the new <package/lintian/ from `unstable' and
-check over all your packages. Alternatively you can check for your
-maintainer email address at the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/lintian/" name="online lintian report">.
-That report, which is updated automatically, contains <prgn/lintian/
-reports against the latest version of the distribution (usually from
-'unstable') using the latest <package/lintian/.
+You should periodically get the new <package>lintian</package> from
+`unstable' and check over all your packages. Alternatively you can
+check for your maintainer email address at the <url id="&url-lintian;"
+name="online lintian report">. That report, which is updated
+automatically, contains <prgn>lintian</prgn> reports against the
+latest version of the distribution (usually from 'unstable') using the
+latest <package>lintian</package>.
<sect>Reporting lots of bugs at once
<p>
-If you report more then 10 bugs on the same topic at once, it is
-recommended that you send a message to
-<email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ describing your intention before
-submitting the report. This will allow other developers to verify
-that the bug is a real problem. In addition, it will help prevent
-a situation in which several maintainers start filing the same bug
-report simultaneously.
+Reporting a great number of bugs for the same problem on a great
+number of different packages &mdash i.e., more than 10 &mdash is a deprecated
+practice. Take all possible steps to avoid submitting bulk bugs at
+all. For instance, if checking for the problem can be automated, add
+a new check to <package>lintian</package> so that an error or warning
+is emitted.
+ <p>
+If you report more than 10 bugs on the same topic at once, it is
+recommended that you send a message to &email-debian-devel; describing
+your intention before submitting the report. This will allow other
+developers to verify that the bug is a real problem. In addition, it
+will help prevent a situation in which several maintainers start
+filing the same bug report simultaneously.
<p>
Note that when sending lots of bugs on the same subject, you should
-send the bug report to <email/maintonly@bugs.debian.org/ so that the
-bug report is not forwarded to the bug distribution mailing list.
+send the bug report to <email>maintonly@bugs.debian.org</email> so
+that the bug report is not forwarded to the bug distribution mailing
+list.
+
+
+ <chapt id="newmaint">
+ <heading>Interaction with Prospective Developers</heading>
+
+ <p>
+This chapter describes procedures that existing Debian developers should
+follow when it comes to dealing with wannabe developers.
+
+ <sect id="sponsoring">Sponsoring packages
+ <p>
+Sponsoring a package means uploading a package for a maintainer who is not
+able to do it on their own, a new maintainer applicant. Sponsoring a package
+also means accepting responsibility for it.
+ <p>
+New maintainers usually have certain difficulties creating Debian packages
+— this is quite understandable. That is why the sponsor is there, to check
+the package and verify that it is good enough for inclusion in Debian.
+(Note that if the sponsored package is new, the FTP admins will also have to
+inspect it before letting it in.)
+ <p>
+Sponsoring merely by signing the upload or just recompiling is
+<strong>definitely not recommended</strong>. You need to build the source
+package just like you would build a package of your own. Remember that it
+doesn't matter that you left the prospective developer's name both in the
+changelog and the control file, the upload can still be traced to you.
+ <p>
+If you are an application manager for a prospective developer, you can also
+be their sponsor. That way you can also verify the how the applicant is
+handling the `Tasks and Skills' part of their application.
+
+ <sect>Advocating new developers
+ <p>
+See the page about <url id="&url-newmaint-advocate;"
+name="advocating a prospective developer"> at the Debian web site.
+
+ <sect>Handling new maintainer applications
+ <p>
+Please see <url id="&url-newmaint-amchecklist;" name="Checklist for
+Application Managers"> at the Debian web site.
+
<chapt id="tools">Overview of Debian Maintainer Tools
<p>
This section contains a rough overview of the tools available to
-maintainers. These tools are meant to help convenience developers and
-free their time for critical tasks.
+maintainers. The following is by no means complete or definitive, but
+just a guide to some of the more popular tools.
+ <p>
+Debian maintainer tools are meant to help convenience developers and
+free their time for critical tasks. As Larry Wall says, there's more
+than one way to do it.
<p>
Some people prefer to use high-level package maintenance tools and
some do not. Debian is officially agnostic on this issue; any tool
endorse any particular tool to the exclusion of a competing tool.
<p>
Most of the descriptions of these packages come from the actual
-package descriptions themselves.
+package descriptions themselves. Further information can be found in
+the package documentation itself. You can also see more info with the
+command <tt>apt-cache show <var>package_name</var></tt>.
+
<sect id="dpkg-dev">
- <heading><package/dpkg-dev/
+ <heading><package>dpkg-dev</package>
<p>
-<package/dpkg-dev/ contains the tools (including
-<prgn/dpkg-source/) required to unpack, build and upload Debian source
-packages. These utilities contain the fundamental, low-level
+<package>dpkg-dev</package> contains the tools (including
+<prgn>dpkg-source</prgn>) required to unpack, build and upload Debian
+source packages. These utilities contain the fundamental, low-level
functionality required to create and manipulated packages; as such,
they are required for any Debian maintainer.
+
<sect id="lintian">
- <heading><package/lintian/
+ <heading><package>lintian</package>
<p>
-<package/Lintian/ dissects Debian packages and reports bugs and
-policy violations. It contains automated checks for many aspects of
-Debian policy as well as some checks for common errors. The use of
-<package/lintian/ has already been discussed in <ref
+<package>Lintian</package> dissects Debian packages and reports bugs
+and policy violations. It contains automated checks for many aspects
+of Debian policy as well as some checks for common errors. The use of
+<package>lintian</package> has already been discussed in <ref
id="upload-checking"> and <ref id="lintian-reports">.
+
+ <sect id="debconf">
+ <heading><package>debconf</package></heading>
+ <p>
+<package>debconf</package> provides a consistent interface to
+configuring packages interactively. It is user interface
+independant, allowing end-users to configure packages with a
+text-only interface, an HTML interface, or a dialog interface. New
+interfaces can be added modularly.
+ <p>
+You can find documentation for this package in the
+<package>debconf-doc</package> package.
+ <p>
+Many feel that this system should be used for all packages requiring
+interactive configuration. <package>debconf</package> is not
+currently required by Debian Policy, however, that may change in the
+future.
+ <p>
+
+
<sect id="debhelper">
- <heading><package/debhelper/
+ <heading><package>debhelper</package>
<p>
-<package/debhelper/ is a collection of programs that can be used in
-<tt>debian/rules</tt> to automate common tasks related to building
-binary Debian packages. Programs are included to install various files
-into your package, compress files, fix file permissions, integrate
-your package with the Debian menu system.
+<package>debhelper</package> is a collection of programs that can be
+used in <file>debian/rules</file> to automate common tasks related to
+building binary Debian packages. Programs are included to install
+various files into your package, compress files, fix file permissions,
+integrate your package with the Debian menu system.
<p>
-Unlike <package/debmake/, <package/debhelper/ is broken into
+Unlike some approaches, <package>debhelper</package> is broken into
several small, granular commands which act in a consistent manner. As
-such, it allows a greater granularity of control than
-<package/debmake/.
+such, it allows a greater granularity of control than some of the
+other "debian/rules tools".
+ <p>
+There are a number of little <package>debhelper</package> add-on
+packages, too transient to document. You can see the list of most of
+them by doing <tt>apt-cache search ^dh-</tt>.
+
<sect id="debmake">
- <heading><package/debmake/
+ <heading><package>debmake</package>
+ <p>
+<package>debmake</package>, a pre-cursor to
+<package>debhelper</package>, is a less granular
+<file>debian/rules</file> assistant. It includes two main programs:
+<prgn>deb-make</prgn>, which can be used to help a maintainer convert
+a regular (non-Debian) source archive into a Debian source package;
+and <prgn>debstd</prgn>, which incorporates in one big shot the same
+sort of automated functions that one finds in
+<package>debhelper</package>.
<p>
-<package/debmake/, a pre-cursor to <package/debhelper/, is a
-less granular <tt>debian/rules</tt> assistant. It includes two main
-programs: <prgn>deb-make</prgn>, which can be used to help a
-maintainer convert a regular (non-Debian) source archive into a Debian
-source package; and <prgn>debstd</prgn>, which incorporates in one big
-shot the same sort of automated functions that one finds in
-<package/debhelper/.
+The consensus is that <package>debmake</package> is now deprecated in
+favor of <package>debhelper</package>. However, it's not a bug to use
+<package>debmake</package>.
+
+
+ <sect id="yada">
+ <heading><package>yada</package>
+ <p>
+<package>yada</package> is another packaging helper tool. It uses a
+<file>debian/packages</file> file to auto-generate
+<file>debian/rules</file> and other necessary files in the
+<file>debian/</file> subdirectory.
+ <p>
+Note that <package>yada</package> is called "essentially unmaintained"
+by it's own maintainer, Charles Briscoe-Smith. As such, it can be
+considered deprecated.
+
+
+ <sect id="equivs">
+ <heading><package>equivs</package>
+ <p>
+<package>equivs</package> is another package for making packages. It
+is often suggested for local use if you need to make a package simply
+to fulfill dependencies. It is also sometimes used when making
+``meta-packages'', which are packages whose only purpose is to depend
+on other packages.
+
<sect id="cvs-buildpackage">
- <heading><package/cvs-buildpackage/
+ <heading><package>cvs-buildpackage</package>
<p>
-<package/cvs-buildpackage/ provides the capability to inject or
-import Debian source packages into a CVS repository, build a Debian
+<package>cvs-buildpackage</package> provides the capability to inject
+or import Debian source packages into a CVS repository, build a Debian
package from the CVS repository, and helps in integrating upstream
changes into the repository.
<p>
These utilities provide an infrastructure to facilitate the use of CVS
by Debian maintainers. This allows one to keep separate CVS branches
-of a package for <em/stable/, <em/unstable/, and possibly
-<em/experimental/ distributions, along with the other benefits of a
-version control system.
+of a package for <em>stable</em>, <em>unstable</em>, and possibly
+<em>experimental</em> distributions, along with the other benefits of
+a version control system.
+
<sect id="dupload">
- <heading><package/dupload/
+ <heading><package>dupload</package>
<p>
-<package/dupload/ is a package and a script to automagically upload
-Debian packages to the Debian archive, to log the upload, and to send
-mail about the upload of a package. You can configure it for new
-upload locations or methods.
+<package>dupload</package> is a package and a script to automagically
+upload Debian packages to the Debian archive, to log the upload, and
+to send mail about the upload of a package. You can configure it for
+new upload locations or methods.
+
+
+ <sect id="dput">
+ <heading><package>dput</package>
+ <p>
+The <package>dput</package> package and script does much the same
+thing as <package>dupload</package>, but in a different way. It has
+some features over <package>dupload</package>, such as the ability to
+check the GnuPG signature and checksums before uploading, and the
+possibility of running <tt>dinstall</tt> in dry-run mode after the
+upload.
+
+
+ <sect id="fakeroot">
+ <heading><package>fakeroot</package>
+ <p>
+<package>fakeroot</package> simulates root privileges. This enables
+you to build packages without being root (packages usually want to
+install files with root ownership). If you have
+<package>fakeroot</package> installed, you can build packages as a
+user: <tt>dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot</tt>.
+
+
+ <sect id="debootstrap">
+ <heading><package>debootstrap</package>
+ <p>
+The <package>debootstrap</package> package and script allows you to
+"bootstrap" a Debian base system into any part of your filesystem.
+By "base system", we mean the bare minimum of packages required to
+operate and install the rest of the system.
+ <p>
+Having a system like this can be useful in many ways. For instance,
+you can <prgn>chroot</prgn> into it if you want to test your build
+depends. Or, you can test how your package behaves when installed
+into a bare base system.
+
+
+ <sect id="devscripts">
+ <heading><package>devscripts</package>
+ <p>
+<package>devscripts</package> is a package containing a few wrappers
+and tools which you may find helpful for maintaining your Debian
+packages. Example scripts include <prgn>debchange</prgn> and
+<prgn>dch</prgn>, which manipulate your <file>debian/changelog</file>
+file from the command-line, and <prgn>debuild</prgn>, which is a
+wrapper around <prgn>dpkg-buildpackage</prgn>.
+
+
+
+ <sect id="dpkg-dev-el">
+ <heading><package>dpkg-dev-el</package>
+ <p>
+<package>dpkg-dev-el</package> is an Emacs lisp package which provides
+assistance when editing some of the files in the <file>debian</file>
+directory of your package. For instance, when editing
+<file>debian/changelog</file>, there are handy functions for
+finalizing a version and listing the package's current bugs.
+
+
+ <sect id="debget">
+ <heading><package>debget</package>
+ <p>
+<package>debget</package> is a package containing a convenient script
+which can be helpful in downloading files from the Debian archive.
+You can use it to download source packages, for instance (although
+<tt>apt-get source <var>package</var></tt> does pretty much the same
+thing).
+
+
+<!-- FIXME: add the following
+ dpkg-awk
+ alien
+ dpkg-repack
+ grep-dctrl
+ pbuilder -->
+
</book>
</debiandoc>
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+sgml-declaration:nil
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